The FBI probably didn’t think one of their “most wanted criminals” would end up winning a Lenin Peace Prize, and she very likely thought the same.Angela Davis, former member of the Black Panther Party, one-time FBI’s “most wanted criminal,” winner of the 1979 Lenin Peace Prize and two-time vice-presidential candidate for the American Communist Party, spoke at an MLK Commemoration Day Ceremony on Friday afternoon at the Lod Cook Alumni Center.Davis discussed the presence of racism in today’s society.”Racism has not ended because a black man holds the highest office in the land and a black family is in the White House,” Davis said.Davis opened her speech with a smile and thanked the University for receiving her. The audience filled approximately 300 chairs, and people lined the walls.”She touched on several different issues,” said Kathryn Touchstone, international studies junior. Touchstone said she was unfamiliar with Davis before the event, but her controversial background encouraged her to attend.Other attendees were more acquainted with Davis and her activism.”My mom walked with Martin Luther King and was inspired by Angela Davis,” said Stella O’Rourke, communications studies senior.Davis, who has written several books and taught at multiple institutions, spoke on topics based on civil rights and social responsibility.”I’ve been involved with struggles for equality and justice for almost all my life,” Davis said.Davis praised President Obama for identifying with the black struggle, but emphasized that his success is not strictly because he is of African descent.”If a black candidate vowed to continue war in Iraq, then we wouldn’t have responded the same way,” Davis said.Davis spoke of two Americas, one of which has struggled with racism and inequality.Her activism for that America “was seen as negative because it was racially based, but she stood for what she believed in and fought for herself and others,” said Cerise Edmonds, coordinator from the Office of Multicultural Affairs.Davis also mentioned her involvement with the American Communist Party.She commended black Communists for their role in encouraging collective change.After her speech, Davis received a standing ovation.—-Contact Victoria Yu at [email protected]