KTLA News: "Long Beach NAACP supports Angela Davis" (1971)

[Silence]. [Jim Swan] The Long Beach NAACP has gone on record as officially supporting Miss Angela Davis. The former UCLA Philosophy instructor has been charged with buying weapons using a Marin County shootout in which two Black men and the judge were killed. Miss Davis has been claimed her complete innocence stating that she is being persecuted because of her Black-ness and political beliefs. The basis of the Branch of support of Miss Davis stems from a report submitted by the legal redress committee chairman and this report the Chairman, Bob D.Duran [?], stipulated in researching all available information concerning the Angela Davis case this committee sincerely believes that unless the following precautions are adopted in the legal prosecution of her case her trial will only result in her repression, in her becoming a further victim of America's legal system's suppression and repression of ethnic minority individuals and groups who are opposed to the Reagan and Nixon administration, in particular, and the American system of government, in general. [Silence]. [Swan] Swan, President Long Beach Branch NAACP [Swan] In terms of... ...what they have been exposed as this type of society... ...and I don't feel that they would be able to step outside that and to render just a verdict. [Reporter] Mr. Swan, can you describe what a member of her peer group would be? Would he have to be Black? Would he have to be Black and under 30? Or Black, under 30 and female? What are the...how narrow would you define this peer group? [Swan] I think that someone that would be typical of her peer group would have to be a black individual that has had a chance, the result of living in a black community, to develop a black frame of reference as a result of his involvement in... of... this society. And I think that in terms of age a person could be old and young but if a person is interesting to change then I think that person would be considered as a peer group in terms of age. [Unidentified man at microphone talking] Well, I think that first we must begin to deal with the term "Black community." We must deal with the term "community." Our community is not necessarily a particular geographical area, you know. A community encompasses certain ways of looking at life, certain attitudes that you hold in general with other people. I think when we talk about the Black community, even though there is no liberated geographical areas within the United States, we do have uh... a concept that flows through the so-called Black communities in the United States where Black people... ...that situation in San Fernando State... uh... I think, at basis this condition resulted from the fact that we have Black Studies departments at San Fernando State and we have a isolated Mexican-American Studies program. I think that the administration's efforts at that school sort of like keep these two factions fighting for the little federal funds or state funds allocated for the different programs. Sort of like stimulated the reactions that took place. I think we must begin to look at the causes of that particular incidents and recognize that racism, even though is...can't...it not necessarily a conscious type, exclusion can evolve from a particular situation like at San Fernando State where there's not enough funds to go around and the Mexican-Americans and the black are pitted against each other for obtaining these funds and this will create animosities between the two groups and this is not necessarily racist. [Reporter] You indicate that... [Reporter] ...[unintelligible] stay here, she hasn't done anything according to you? [Unidentified man at microphone] We'll see, I have not violated Miss Davis' presumption of innocence. So, therefore, I do not even deal with an assumption that she fled State because I feel that this is an assumption that has been fairly concluded, there's been unfairly concluded by the rixon...uh...by the Nixon Administration and the Reagan Administration. [Reporter] So it's your judgement then she was merely on vacation? [Unidentified man at microphone] As far as I'm concerned she is. [Reporter] Even though she may have been wearing a wig or any other kind of false attire? [Unidentified man at microphone] Yes. [Swan] ...necessary precautions to ensure that Miss Davis will receive at least a fair and just trial: A: that a change of venue be granted to an acknowledged black community in order to secure an impartial and fair trial. For local newspapers and other public communication media have violated her presumption of innocence B: that the trial judge be an accepted representative of the Black community. C: that all jurors be represented to her...of her acknowledged lifestyle and acknowledged peer group. And D: that Miss Davis be allowed reasonable bail and permitted to assist actively in her own...