Kimberlé Crenshaw

Collective Harvest #5: Justice Warrior Wiki

Kimberlé Crenshaw is a lawyer, professor, and civil rights activist who, for the past 30 years has dedicated herself to studying the effects of intersection. In 1989, Crenshaw wrote a paper for the University of Chicago Legal Forum titled “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex” (Coaston). In this paper, she went on to explain the effects of the “double bind faced by victims of simultaneous racial and gender prejudice” (TED). Historically, Black women have been systematically and institutionally targeted. Intersectionality aimed to name the experience of being a woman and being Black. This same concept can be applied in a number of different ways. There can be intersections in race, class, sexuality, or gender. Crenshaw’s groundbreaking paper also used legal cases to illustrate the injustices that Black women faced. Kimberlé Crenshaw has left a legacy on the field of critical race theory and race and gender equality. Her contributions to society as a whole have led her to work on campaigns such as the “Why We Can’t Wait” campaign supporting HR 40, co-found the African American Policy Forum in 1996, and work with the United Nation's World Conference on Racism.

Sources

Coaston, Jane. “The Intersectionality Wars.” Vox, Vox, 28 May 2019,

www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/5/20/18542843/intersectionality-conservatism-law-race-gender-discrimination.

“Kimberlé Crenshaw.” TED, www.ted.com/speakers/kimberle_crenshaw.