Trent Willis, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 10, promised that his union would honor Angela Davis, the former college professor, feminist leader and former Black Panther leader, the first chance he got.

Last week, Willis lived up to his word, as he along with the ILWU local 10 union, honored Davis in a star-studded ceremony on Juneteenth at the longshoreman’s union hall, which sits alongside Fisherman’s Wharf.

Willis, along with other Local 10 union officials, acknowledged Davis work as a professor and activist in the 1970s and 1980s and for standing up for freedom and union rights.

“In 1972, we had the first rally by organized labor to call for the freedom of Angela Davis,” said Jack Heyman, a retired former ILWU Local 10 member and a long-time Bay Area labor activist.

“We have a long legacy that has been handed down to us, and it’s our responsibility to uphold,” said Willis. “Angela Davis reminds me of Muhammad Ali. She sacrificed everything in defense of her people.”

As a result of this, and her fight for organized labor, Willis and officials with ILWU Local 10, made her an honorary member. This honor has only been given to one other non-union member: Dr. Martin Luther King, who made a member in a 1967 ceremony at the union hall.

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Willis was referring to Davis and her ordeal and trial in the 1970s. During the Soledad Brothers trial in 1970, a judge and three Black defendants were shot and killed as they were leaving a Marin County courthouse. The guns used were registered in Davis’ name and hours after the incident, the FBI issued a nationwide warrant for her and she was placed on the FBI’s most-wanted list.

She was later captured in New York and brought back to Marin, where she was held in jail for 16 months before being granted bail. In 1972, she was acquitted of the murder charges by an all-white jury after they deliberated for 13 hours. After her release, Davis would become an international speaker and a college professor at San Francisco State University and UC Santa Cruz.

As she was being honored, Davis acknowledged the significance of Juneteenth and it being made a federal holiday.

“Finally, there is a holiday to celebrate the defeat of slavery,” said Davis, as the crowd cheered.  This wasn’t the first time,Davis spoke in front of ILWU members.  She had been a speaker at the 2020 Juneteenth celebration in Oakland. She also spoke at the ILWU Labor May Day Celebration last month at San Francisco City Hall.

At the Union Hall, close to 300 people showed up to acknowledge Davis’ leadership and to also swear in new registered union members.

“Local 10 has been at the forefront of radical unionism my entire academic career,” continued Davis. “I want to thank you for consistency for leading the struggle. “I want to thank this union for fighting for my freedom. I want to thank you for refusing to unload South African cargo during apartheid. I want to thank you for refusing to unload cargo that came from Israel. This union has fought all the international movements I have been a part of. And I am privileged to be an honorary member of this local along with Dr. Martin Luther King. An injury to one, is an injury to all.”

Isabelle Price

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