Decision not to honour Angela Davis results in resignations
Posted Jan 9, 2019 3:16 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Three members of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s board of directors have resigned after the Alabama organization rescinded a planned human rights award for political activist Angela Davis.
In a statement Wednesday, chairman Mike Oatridge, first vice chair Walter Body and secretary Janice Kelsey said their resignations were effective immediately.
The 74-year-old Davis said the board wouldn’t tell her why it rescinded the award named for minister and civil rights pioneer Fred L. Shuttlesworth. Later, she says, she learned that her “long-term support of justice for Palestine was at issue.”
The withdrawal of the award spawned widespread controversy. Some activists have called for the resignation of all board members.
The former board members said they regret the circumstances surrounding the award’s selection process and “the dissension this has caused.”
The Associated Press
