Angela Davis on Ericka Huggins

“A few years ago, I had the opportunity to hear Ericka Huggins-our friendship has now surpassed the half-century mark-speak at a conference on restorative justice in Toledo, Ohio, organized in part by my sister, Fania, who has worked as a practitioner of restorative justice for many years. When Ericka spoke of her own incarceration as a gift rather than an injury or deprivation, I thought to myself, "Yes, precisely. This is what I have been trying to say all along."”

“Ericka and the other sisters and brothers were released late that night. When she walked through the gates of Sybil Brand Institute for Women into the hard rain cutting through the night outside, she seemed as strong as ever. Seeing our sadness, our empathy with the pain she was surely suffering, she said, "What's wrong with you all? We can't stop now. We've got to keep on struggling." That was a moment I shall never forget. The sisters who had been with her inside the jail said that she was the one who had kept everyone's spirits high. She was the one who had most resolutely continued to carry the banner of struggle.”