WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) – Social activist, professor and 1960s radical Angela Davis is coming to Purdue University next week to deliver a free lecture.

The 71-year-old who's known for her work on economic, racial and gender justice will speak Feb. 25 at the Elliott Hall of Music during an event that's open to the public.

Davis gained national attention in 1969 when the University of California, Los Angeles, professor was fired for being a Communist party member. She was acquitted in 1972 of providing guns for Black Panthers in a California courthouse shooting.

Davis has taught at several colleges, retiring in 2008 from the University of California, where she was a professor in history of consciousness and feminist studies.

Her recent work has focused on social problems associated with incarceration, poverty and racial discrimination.