‘No, No, No, No’: Radical Black Activist Angela Davis Learns She Is Descended From A Mayflower Passenger

Angela Davis, radical black activist was visibly shocked to discover that she was a descendant the Mayflower pilgrims.

As a self-confessed Marxist feminist and ex-black power activist from the 1970s, she was a guest on “PBS”Finding Your Roots” Tuesday. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the host, revealed to her that she is a descendant from William Brewster, one of the original passengers aboard the Mayflower.

Gates shared a clip from the segment via Twitter. “Any idea what you’re looking at?” He continues to ask. “That is a list of the passengers on the Mayflower.”

Davis is completely astonished. “No, I can’t believe this,” She laughed and raised her hands in joy. “No, my ancestors did not come here on the Mayflower,” She laughs again.

“Your ancestors came here on the Mayflower,” Gates continues to repeat. “You are descended from one of the 101 people who sailed on the Mayflower.”

“No. No, no, no, no,” She responds laughing in disbelief. Finally she gets up and walks away. “Oof. That’s a little bit too much to deal with right now,” She said.

“Do you know what you’re looking at? That is a list of the passengers on the Mayflower.”

Our researchers discovered #AngelaDavisHere is the reaction of a woman whose ancestors travelled to the US via the Mayflower. #FindingYourRoots pic.twitter.com/G2HhA9BSrT

— Henry Louis Gates Jr (@HenryLouisGates) February 22, 2023

According to the episode Frank Davis, Davis’ father was legally Edward and Mollie Spencer. However, Edward Davis wasn’t his biological father. Spencer and Davis divorced before Davis was born. Frank Davis was instead the son Mollie Spencer’s mother and a white man named Murphy Jones. Experts were able trace Davis’s family through Jones, according to experts. This includes William Brewster (original signer of The Mayflower Compact) and a leader in the Plymouth Colony.

The episode also features Davis’s maternal grandfather, John Austin Darden (a white Alabama lawyer) and state legislator. Darden is her descendant. He was a drummer from Virginia, who served in the Revolutionary War. Darden moved to Georgia where he owned a farm, and at least six slaves.

“I always imagined my ancestors as the people who were enslaved,” Davis said. “My mind and my heart are swirling with all of these contradictory emotions.”

Davis has been an activist for radical race since the 1960s. From the moment she started at Brandeis University, Davis began Marxism instruction. She was a student and a teacher of Herbert Marcuse, a radical left-wing philosopher. She also studied the Marxist Jean Paul Sartre’s work. As a member both of the Communist Party USA (Black Panther Party), she was also able to speak in Communist Cuba, East Germany, the Soviet Union and East Germany. Her long academic career began as a professor at UCLA in 1969. She also taught at UC Santa Cruz and Rutgers University. In 1980 and 1984, she ran for Vice President in her capacity as a Communist Party member.

Davis, now 79, continues her career in radical politics. In 2011, Davis spoke at Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. She was honorary cochair for the 2017 Women’s March. She was an advocate for the abolishment of prisons. 2017 In an op-ed she called for the abolishment of police “in the age of Trump.” She is also a close family friend Jussie Smollett. Her works on gender and race have been also featured in College coursesRecenty, also in AP African-American Studies Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has banned this class.