The Combahee River Collective Statement, published in 1977, became one of the most important documents in Black feminist history. The statement articulated several groundbreaking ideas that would influence generations of activists and scholars.

First, it explicitly connected personal experiences to political analysis, arguing that Black women’s lived experiences were a valid source of knowledge about oppression and resistance. Second, it introduced the concept of “identity politics”—the idea that those who experience particular forms of oppression are best positioned to understand and fight against those oppressions.

The collective also emphasized the interconnectedness of various forms of oppression, arguing that racism, sexism, classism, and heterosexism were interlocking systems that couldn’t be addressed in isolation. This systemic analysis would later influence academic disciplines, policy discussions, and activist strategies across many movements.

Walker’s womanism emphasized several key points that distinguished it from mainstream feminism. First, it celebrated Black women’s strength and resilience rather than focusing primarily on their victimization. Second, it recognized the importance of community and family ties, acknowledging that Black women couldn’t simply reject relationships with Black men who were also facing racial oppression. Third, it incorporated spirituality and connection to nature as important elements of women’s liberation.

Through her novels, essays, and activism, Walker demonstrated how literature could serve as a vehicle for Black feminist thought, showing how creative expression and political analysis could reinforce each other.

At the University of Wisconsin Law School, where she received her LL.M., Professor Crenshaw was a William H. Hastie Fellow. She then clerked for Justice Shirley Abrahamson of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Professor Crenshaw's publications include Critical Race Theory (edited by Crenshaw, et al., 1995) and Words that Wound: Critical Race Theory, Assaultive Speech and the First Amendment (with Matsuda, et al., 1993).

In 2007, Professor Crenshaw was awarded the Fulbright Chair for Latin America in Brazil.  In 2008, she was nominated an Alphonse Fletcher Fellow.  In the same year she joined the selective group of scholars awarded with an in-residence fellowship at the Center of Advanced Behavioral Studies at Stanford.

You can find out more about Professor Crenshaw's work through her think tank, The African American Policy Forum, at http://aapf.org/.