In the United States, women have been fighting for equal rights ever since the inception of the constitution and its democratic policies. Although, the constitution is supposed to grant all Americans equal rights, it only served as a facade of false ideals of freedom and equality. Due to the biased policies of the United States government, the movement of woman suffrage was introduced in the mid-19th century to ensure that women received fair treatment. The perseverance of this powerful movement and its followers paid off in 1920, when the 19th amendment was ratified. The 19th amendment allowed women to vote. However, one particular group of people was forgotten in the struggle for equal rights, the blacks. Although, women gained the privilege of voting, the black woman was put on the "back burner" for equal rights. Black women particularly had a difficult time fighting for equal rights, because they had two "strikes" against them; they were women, and more importantly, they were black. This injustice spawned a new generation of freedom fighters who vied for equal rights for women and blacks, which had been denied to them previously. Freedom fighters such as Assata Shakur, Elaine Brown, and Ella Baker were instrumental in the struggle for equal rights for blacks; however, Angela Davis emerged from this pack of activists as the most infamous of them all. .
Angela Davis was born January 26, 1944, to Sally E. Davis, who was an educator, and B. Frank, who was also an educator and a businessman. Angela Davis was born in Birmingham, Alabama, during a time of great political unrest and racism. She grew up in a middle class section of Birmingham, Alabama, that was known as Dynamite Hill, because of the frequent Ku Klux Klan bombings that occurred there. As a child, she was encouraged to fight for equality and civil rights while she was still in elementary school. Angela Davis had an extensive background in activism.