Angela Davis (born 1944), a radical feminist and political activist, ran for Vice President on the Communist ticket in 1980 and 1984 with Presidential candidate Gus Hall (1910-2000). Davis was a member of the Communist Party and an associate of the Black Panthers. She worked as a philosophy lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles before being fired in 1969 because of her communist membership.
Davis became the third woman on the FBI's Most Wanted List in 1970. She was charged with conspiracy, kidnapping, and homicide, due to allegedly participating in an escape attempt from Marin County Hall of Justice. She evaded the police for two weeks before being captured, tried, and eventually acquitted of all charges. It was during this time that Davis rose to prominence in America, sparking a widespread "Free Angela Davis" campaign.
Hall was a labuor organiser and a founder of the trade union United Steelworkers of America. He was also a leader of the Communist Party USA. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Hall worked to build the Communist Party among the "baby boomer" generation of activists involved in the peace, civil rights and trade union movements. In total, Hall ran for president four times on the Communist ticket.