Performativity of Justice: Solidarity Campaigns with Angela Davis in Europe

• In Event: Radical Repositories: Archives, Artists, and Political Potentiality

Abstract

My paper conceptualizes transnational solidarity with Angela Davis during her 1970 – 1972 trial. For the project, I draw from a recently uncovered archive that Stanford University recently began processing. At the archival processing center, I examine letters and petitions sent to the Marin County Courthouse from across Europe. Using this ephemera, I answer the following questions: How do the petitions differ from country to country? How do these petitions disrupt the archive? How does performative solidarity manifest in letters and petitions from across Europe? Analyzing this collection, I demonstrate that letter writing and petition signing were affective performative acts.

Presenter

• Jamele Watkins, Stanford University