Kimberlé Crenshaw

Crenshaw introduced the intersectionality theory which basically studies how overlapping or intersecting social identities, minority identities in particular, relate to systems and structures or systems of oppression. Crenshaw's main focus on intersectionality is on how the law responds to issues that include gender and race discrimination due to the fact the anti-discrimination laws are limited to just race, just gender, or any kind of singular social identity. To support the Intersectionality Theory, Crenshaw often refers to the DeGraffenreid v. General Motors case where a group of African American women who were eligible to work office and secretarial jobs couldn't because the jobs were only offered to white women. In this case the court declined the complaint of compound discrimination and dismissed the case. She also discusses intersectionality based on her experience from being on the legal team for Anita Hill; a woman who accused Clarence Thomas, a Supreme Court Nominee at the time, for sexual harassment. During the case, white feminists supported Hill and opposing members of the African American community supported Thomas. Crenshaw contended that the two groups going against one another caused Anita Hill to lose her voice in the matter as a black woman. By choosing to support the women's side of the argument, she unintentionally muted her racial contribution to the issue.

## **About**

Kimberlé Crenshaw, Professor of Law at UCLA and Columbia Law School, is a leading authority in the area of Civil Rights, Black feminist legal theory, and race, racism and the law. Her work has been foundational in two fields of study that have come to be known by terms that she coined: Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality. Crenshaw’s  articles have appeared in the Harvard Law Review, National Black Law Journal, Stanford Law Review and Southern California Law Review. She is the founding coordinator of the Critical Race Theory Workshop, and the co-editor of the volume, Critical Race Theory: Key Documents That Shaped the Movement. Crenshaw has lectured widely on race matters, addressing audiences across the country as well as in Europe, India, Africa and South America.

In 1996, she co-founded the African American Policy Forum to house a variety of projects designed to deliver research-based strategies to better advance social inclusion. Among the Forum’s projects are the Affirmative Action Research and Policy Consortium and the Multiracial Literacy and Leadership Initiative

## Biography

### Early Life and Education

Kimberlé Crenshaw was born in Canton, Ohio in 1959 to her parents Marian and Walter Clarence Crenshaw Jr. As an adolescent, she attended Canton McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio. She started her collegiate studies at The University of Wisconsin-Madison. Later on in 1981, she attended Cornell University where she received her bachelor's degree in Africana Studies and government. She then went on to receive her J.D from Harvard Law School in 1984 and LL.M from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1985.

### Career

After completing her LL.M at the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1985, Crenshaw began her career as an academic professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1986 and in 1995 became a full time professor at Columbia Law. Crenshaw is also the founder of Columbia Law School's Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies (CISPS) and the African American Policy Forum (AAPF).. At the university she lectures on civil rights, critical race studies, constitutional law, and critical race theory which is a field she founded. She also held the following positions or earned accolades in the years listed below.

* 1995 - Appointed full professor at Columbia Law School
* 1996 - Co-founded and is Executive Director of the African American Policy Forum non profit
* 2001 - Wrote the background paper on Race and Gender Discrimination for the United Nations World Conference on Racism
* 2008 - Awarded in-residence fellowship at the Center of Advanced Behavioral Studies at Stanford
* 2011 - Founded the Center for Intersectionality & Social Policy Studies (CISPS)

## Influence and Intersectionality Theory

* Crenshaw was invited to moderate a Sexual Harassment Panel hosted by Women in Animation and The Animation Guild, Local 839. Crenshaw discussed the history of harassment in the workplace and transitioned the discussion to how it plays a role in today's work environments.

* Legal Team for Anita Hill; a woman who accused Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, of sexual harassment.

* Crenshaw's work has been cited as influential in the drafting of the equality clause in the Constitution of South Africa.

Crenshaw introduced the term intersectionality in the early 1980s. And thus, her introduction of intersectionality was a seminal 1987 paper written by Crenshaw for the University of Chicago Legal Forum. The paper attempted to mitigate the widespread misconception that the intersectional experience is solely due to the sum of racism and sexism.[3] Although the concept of intersectionality was not new it was not formally recognized until Crenshaw's theory.

When introducing Intersectionality, Crenshaw focused heavily on the DeGraffenreid v. General Motors case where a group of African American women who were eligible to work office and secretarial jobs couldn't because the jobs were only offered to white women. In this case the court declined the complaint of compound discrimination and dismissed the case. She also focused heavily on her work on the 1991 case of sexual Anita Hill's harassment accusations of Clarence Thomas. During this time, white feminists supported Hill and opposed members of the African American community who supported Thomas.

## Publications & Honors

**Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement**

Published: May 1, 1996

**Race and Gender Discrimination for the United Nations World Conference on Racism**

Published: June 2001

**Words that Wound: Critical Race Theory, Assaultive Speech and the First Amendment**

**The Race Track: Understanding and Challenging Structural Racism**

Published: July 30, 2013

**Reaffirming Racism: The faulty logic of Colorblindness, Remedy and Diversity**

Published: June 4, 2013

**Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics and Violence against Women of Color**

**On Intersectionality: Essential Writings of Kimberlé Crenshaw**

August 2017

* 1985: William H. Hastie Fellow
* 1991: Professor of the Year, UCLA School of Law
* 1994: Professor of the Year, UCLA School of Law
* 2007; Fulbright Chair for Latin America in Brazil[7]
* 2008: recipient of Alphonse Fletcher Fellowship[32]
* 2008: fellow, Center for Advanced Behavioral Studies in the Social Sciences, Stanford University[32]
* 2015: No. 1 Most Inspiring Feminist, *Ms. Magazine*[7]
* 2015: "Power 100" *Ebony Magazine*[33]
* 2016: Outstanding Scholar Award, Fellows of the American Bar Foundation[34]
* 2017: Gittler Prize[35]

## Sources

http://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/kimberle-crenshaw

*https://thebaffler.com/authors/kimberle-williams-crenshaw*

*https://thebaffler.com/salvos/race-to-bottom-crenshaw*

*https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle\_crenshaw\_the\_urgency\_of\_intersectionality/up-next*

*http://thenewpress.com/books/critical-race-theory*

*http://www.powells.com/book/the-race-track-9781595588821*

*http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/413/142/1660699/*

*http://africana.cornell.edu/content/kimberl%C3%A9-williams-crenshaw-81-women-and-social-movements-black-lives-matter*

*https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle\_crenshaw\_the\_urgency\_of\_intersectionality*

*www.aapf.org/kimberle-crenshaw*

*www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/kimberle-crenshaw*