Backtalker by Kimberlé Crenshaw review
The inspiring life of the Black American activist and legal scholar who changed the way the world thinks about race
TL;DR
- Kimberlé Crenshaw's memoir explores her life growing up under Jim Crow segregation and the racism she faced.
- The concept of "backtalking" is central to Crenshaw's philosophy, representing resilience and resistance against injustice.
- Crenshaw developed the influential legal theory of "intersectionality" to explain how race and gender discrimination overlap.
- The memoir recounts instances of systemic racism, including discriminatory practices at a public pool and the use of eminent domain to seize Black families' property.
- Crenshaw's academic career at Cornell and Harvard Law involved advocating for Black faculty and addressing racial and gender discrimination in legal frameworks.
- A key case that informed Crenshaw's intersectionality theory involved Emma DeGraffenreid suing General Motors for discrimination that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act did not fully address due to its focus on race OR sex, but not the combination.