Shut Up Or Face The President? These Women Took The Tough Route

angela davis
Via Flickr
Adé Hennis
April 3, 2025

These women activists are important figures in our history, yet some presidents and presidential candidates did everything in their power to smear them.

#1: Angela Davis vs. Richard Nixon-“Dangerous terrorist” - that's what President Richard Nixon called Angela Davis in 1970 when she was charged with murder after a courtroom shootout. Though Davis was found innocent, Nixon couldn’t stand to see this Black Panther become a popular college professor.

#2: Shirley Chisholm vs. Richard Nixon-Nixon shot down Chisholm’s proposed Comprehensive Child Development Act in 1971. By associating it with communism, he implied that the Black congresswoman was a communist. However, Chisholm continued fighting for beneficial programs like WIC.

#3: Sister Souljah Vs. Bill Clinton-President Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president in the 1992 election, misquoted Sister Souljah, comparing her to KKK Grand Wizard David Duke. Souljah had an iconic response, and continued to build her reputation as an artist and activist.

These heroes were painted as villains to benefit the real villains in our history. Black resistance isn’t simply just good vs. evil, it’s Black resilience vs a system built to suppress it.

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