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Alabama Civil Rights Organization Rescinds Award for Activist Angela Davis

Following complaints from the Jewish community, the mayor of Birmingham said.

A civil rights institute in Alabama has withdrawn an award for Angela Davis—a longtime radical political activist, author, and academic—following pressure from the Jewish community, according to reports. Black activists are upset by the decision, calling for protests and leadership changes at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The institute’s board of directors had chosen Davis, who has supported Palestinian rights and criticized Israeli policy in the past, to receive a human-rights award at its annual gala next month, but decided to withdraw the award and cancel the annual gala at which the Birmingham native would have been honored. The decision reportedly came after “supporters and other concerned individuals and organizations, both inside and outside of our local community, began to make requests that we reconsider our decision,” the institute’s board said in a statement. “Upon closer examination of Ms. Davis’ statements and public record, we concluded that she unfortunately does not meet all of the criteria on which the award is based,” the statement reads.