On Intersectionality: Essential Writings

Over the past twenty years the concept of "intersectionality," first coined by scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, has emerged as an influential approach to understanding discrimination and exclusion in our society, whose members can experience bias in multiple ways—as a consequence of race, gender, sexual orientation, or a combination of these. And as the Washington Post reported recently, "the term has been used by social activists as both a rallying cry for more expansive progressive movements and a chastisement for their limitations." As a new wave of activism seeks to challenge entrenched discrimination in America, few concepts have acquired such relevance or been so widely debated. In this first-ever collection of Crenshaw's writing, readers will find the key essays and articles that have defined the concept of intersectionality and made Crenshaw a legal superstar. The book, which also includes a sweeping new introduction by the author, reveals the trajectory of the subject as it has evolved over the course of two decades and radically changed the face of social justice activism. For anyone interested in movement politics and advocacy, On Intersectionality is compulsory reading from one of the most brilliant critical race theorists of our time.

About the Author :
Kimberlé Crenshaw is distinguished professor of law at UCLA, a professor of law at Columbia Law School, and a co-founder and the executive director of the African American Policy Forum. She is a co-editor (with Neil T. Gotanda, Gary Peller, and Kendall Thomas) of Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement. Crenshaw lives in New York City and Los Angeles.

Review :
Praise for Kimberlé Crenshaw's Critical Race Theory: “As of the publication of Critical Race Theory it will be unwise, if not impossible, to do any serious work on race without referencing this splendid collection.” —Toni Morrison Praise for Kimberlé Crenshaw: “Kimberlé Crenshaw belongs at the center of public conversation. . . . Imagine the world we might have if we all took a few moments to engage her ideas.” —Melissa Harris-Perry, MSNBC “Her name and her work [have] become an introductory point for feminists of all stripes.” —New Statesman “Considering its recent prominence, it's surprising to realize that the term [intersectionality] has been around only since 1989: It was coined by legal scholar and critical theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw.” —The Washington Post “The theorist who first coined intersectionality as a political framework.” —Salon “It's now been over two decades since legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw wrote her original paper coining the term 'intersectionality' and mainstream feminism is still in the throes of a massive storm around it.” —The Guardian