A PROFESSOR OF LAW, FIGHTING FOR EQUALITY

A published author, respected but under-recognized activist, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw has accomplished much in a career spanning over three decades, playing pivotal roles in academic theory, global politics, and social justice. After receiving her B.A. from Cornell, J.D. from Harvard Law School, and LLM from the University of Wisconsin--Madison, Crenshaw joined the faculty at UCLA, where she has been since 1986. Crenshaw was a founder of Critical Race Theory, a relatively new academic discipline which examines legal issues dealing with race, power, and class. She also co-founded the African American Policy Forum, an “innovative think tank that connects academics, activists and policy-makers in dismantling structural inequality and engages new ideas and perspectives to transform public discourse and policy” (from appf.org/mission). Her studies in law theory, and the intersectionality between race, gender and class, has affected international affairs. For instance, the equality clause in the South African Constitution was influenced by Crenshaw’s academic work. She has lectured both around the United States and in other countries, to audiences on several continents. Professing law at the UCLA School of Law and Columbia Law School, Crenshaw splits her time nowadays between teaching and writing.