Growing up at a time of great political unrest and racism in the United States, Angela Davis was exposed to multiple socio-economic beliefs. From these many experiences Davis was able to distinguish herself as one of the foremost activists of the twentieth century in the crusade for racial equality. Davis initiated everything from militant demonstrations to non-violent protests designed to focus public attention on the plight of minorities. From her childhood in Birmingham to her career as a professor at UCLA Angela Davis fought for racial as well as political equality in the face of danger regardless of possible consequences. The actions and ideals of Angela Davis are a product of situations rather than a general philosophy, and are therefore somewhat limited.
Growing up in Birmingham Davis was not a stranger to the world of segregation. From 1948 when her family moved out of the projects and into the large wooden house on Center Street she is driven into the world of white hostility. Her family was the first black family to move into the area soon to be dubbed "Dynamite Hill" due to the racially motivated hate bombings (79). Growing up in this environment leaves no question as to the mindset Davis displays later in her life. Although many have grown up in environments such as this, Davis has an exceptional ability to motivate others and uses this in the struggle against racial inequality.
As a teenager Davis found it irrational that her schoolmates would fight over nothing-over being bumped or having ones toes stepped on (94). She stated, "it hurt to see us folding on ourselves, using ourselves as whipping posts because we did not yet know how to struggle against the real cause of our misery" 95. Growing up, finding her brothers and sisters fighting meaninglessly against each other did not solve anything. It is clear that Davis" future ideals were a result of experiences and situations such as these.