“Organize as If It Were Possible to Create a Movement That Will Change the World”

In 2014, Angela Davis attended the CCCC Writing Democracy workshop for a public interview with LaToya Lydia Sawyer and Ben Kuebrich, former students of Professor Davis. They talk about the concept of democracy, the role of social media in organizing, the possibility of contemporary social movements, and prison abolition. Two workshop participants also ask Professor Davis questions about cultivating students who can do the background work of movement building and about the promise of socialism. Davis’ insights hold particular weight in the present moment given her long-standing commitment to anti-racist movements and critiques of imprisonment. Most importantly, she provides a vision of what is possible through critical thinking and collective organizing for social justice.