On Way to Trial: black revolutionary Angela Davis arrives at the Santa Clara Courthouse in San Jose, California with her chief defense counsel, Howard Moore, Jr., for the opening of her long-delayed trial. She is accused of kidnap, conspiracy and murder in connection with the Marin County Courthouse shootout in August 1970 that left four men, including a judge, dead. She was released on bail last Wednesday after 16 months in jail. Davis is seen behind a metal fence that surrounds the courthouse as a security measure.

Angela Davis (1944-present) is an educator and activist who became known for her involvement in a politically-charged murder case in the early 1970s. Influenced by her segregated upbringing in Birmingham, Alabama, Davis joined the Black Panthers and an all-black branch of the Communist Party as a young woman. Davis was charged with aiding the botched escape attempt of the imprisoned black radical George Jackson; she served roughly 18 months in jail before her acquittal in 1972.

On recto: typewritten title and date.
On verso: date stamp.

Wire photographs were originally transmitted over phonelines, then later, by satellite. They were first used in the early 1920s. Associated Press became a leader with this. After pigment touch-ups, etc., the print is put into a drum (like a drum scanner). The image gets converted into audio tones that are transmitted. The tones are received and beamed onto photo-sensitive paper. Wire photographs are copies without originals---they are hybrid, transmitted objects. (Britt Salvesen, Curator and Department Head, Photography Department, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, March 30-31, 2022)

This object has the following keywords:

• Civil Rights Movements
• Injustice
• Racial Discrimination

• Image Dimensions: 6 15/16 x 10 1/8 in. (17.62 x 25.72 cm) Measured by Cornejo-Reynoso, Aitzin
• Sheet Dimensions: 8 x 11 in. (20.32 x 27.94 cm) Measured by Cornejo-Reynoso, Aitzin