She’s been leading the charge on justice and equity for years!
While living in the current state of affairs and discussing issues of justice, equity, and the fight against systemic oppression, we must say the name Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw. A pioneering scholar, lawyer, and civil rights advocate, Crenshaw has given the world the tools to understand how race, gender, and power intersect, forever changing the way we fight for equality.
Born in Canton, Ohio, Crenshaw grew up questioning the injustices she saw around her. She earned a bachelor’s degree in government and Africana studies from Cornell before attending Harvard Law School and the University of Wisconsin Law School where she earned an advanced degree called a Master of Laws. As a student in the early 1980s, she found herself in classrooms where race and gender were treated as separate issues, as if Black women’s experiences didn’t exist. But rather than accept this oversight, she did what visionaries do—she named the problem and laid the groundwork for solutions.
In 1989, Crenshaw introduced the term intersectionality, a concept that revolutionized the way we understand systemic oppression. She explained how racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination don’t operate independently but instead intersect, creating unique challenges for those who exist at multiple marginalized identities—especially Black women. Intersectionality became the framework that scholars, activists, and policymakers now use to address injustice.
But Crenshaw didn’t stop there. As a Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Califronia, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, she has spent decades shaping the fields of critical race theory, gender studies, and civil rights law. She co-founded the African American Policy Forum (AAPF), an organization dedicated to advancing racial justice, gender equality, and human rights. Through AAPF’s #SayHerName campaign, Crenshaw has fought to ensure that Black women and girls lost to police violence are remembered and that their stories fuel the demand for justice.
Her influence extends far beyond academia. From testifying before Congress to shaping legal arguments in major civil rights cases, Crenshaw’s work has directly impacted policies and movements worldwide. In an era where diversity, equity, and inclusion are under attack, she remains steadfast in her mission—equipping new generations with the knowledge to challenge oppression at every level.
Today, she regularly conducts workshops and trainings, helping people to understand Critical Race Theory around the globe, lending her legal expertise to issues that impact masses, from the Anita Hill testimony during Justice Clarence Thomas’ Supreme Court confirmation hearing, to her groundbreaking work on intersectionality being influential in the equality clause drafted in the South African Consitution.
Because of Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, we have the language to name our struggles and the framework to fight for a world where no one is left behind. Her work reminds us that justice isn’t just about recognizing oppression—it’s about dismantling it.
Cover photo: Meet Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, the Pioneering Legal Scholar Whose Work Birthed Critical Race Theory/Photo credit: Columbia Law School