One of the nation’s most prominent civil rights museums has reneged on its plans to celebrate one of America’s most outspoken freedom fighters, igniting a national controversy after seemingly genuflecting to grumbles from the area’s Jewish community.
On Jan. 4, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute released a weirdly nonspecific statement canceling its plans to bestow the institute’s highest honor upon Angela Davis, a Birmingham, Alabama, native. The ceremony was supposed to serve as the centerpiece of the museum’s annual gala, planned for Feb. 19.
According to people familiar with BCRI’s decision, the institute’s reversal is centered around the local Jewish community’s opposition with what the Associated Press describes as Davis’ support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, which seeks to rectify Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. Soon after the institute announced their plans to honor Davis, Southern Jewish Life magazine published what could only be described as a “hit piece” detailing Davis’s support of policies that are often seen as anti-Israel.
https://www.theroot.com/civil-rights-institute-cancels-gala-honoring-angela-dav-1831549353?utm_source=theroot_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow&fbclid=IwAR2BfXFGT56AwECo2_RamMu91CwQkcmY0U_IC1HJDeVETrRTbGF7iJ-0EE8&fbclid=IwAR1Ns2fP8q-C1yyMdo1APk5ACDBfXs0_oTijuv9O9wtfUQ1gnbYzfaejlYc
"I believe man suffers from an appalling ignorance of his own nature." -William Golding, Lord of the Flies
