Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an African American political activist and author. She first became famous because she was a prominent member of the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) and was involved in Black Power movements in the 1960s and 1970s. Since then she has become known for her work as a writer and speaker while teaching at the University of California. She has done research in the areas of feminism and critical theory and is a prison abolitionist.