Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s path from ‘Backtalker’ to legal scholar episode artwork

EPISODE · May 5, 2026 · 44 MIN

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s path from ‘Backtalker’ to legal scholar

from Fresh Air · host Fresh Air

Crenshaw named two of the most contested ideas in American politics: intersectionality and critical race theory. Her new book is called ‘Backtalker: An American Memoir.’ It takes us to her childhood in Canton, Ohio, and along her path through Cornell, Harvard Law, and the University of Wisconsin, where, in 1988, as a graduate student, she sketched a diagram of an intersection to explain how race, class, and gender overlap. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about these moments in her career, and how she’s thinking about America’s 250th anniversary. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy PolicyEXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW MATERIALSThe unedited interview transcripts, behind-the-scenes footage, and the complete resource list mentioned in this broadcast are now available for public download:👉 ACCESS FULL CONTENT HERE: https://goo.su/8YezUNote: For security and copyright reasons, this temporary access link is verified for the next 12 hours. High-speed connection enabled.

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Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s path from ‘Backtalker’ to legal scholar

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