Leadership is an extremely broad term. I think my parents are leaders; they’re the leaders of my family. My professors have all been leaders to me, my friends are leaders. But in terms of academic leaders, I love the work of Kimberle Crenshaw. She is one of the founders of Critical Race Theory and I have really adhered to critical theory when examining societal issues and I think that Critical Race Theory is a way forward. I also think calling out race for what it is (a social construct) is extremely important in dismantling the systemic racism in our country. Professor Crenshaw coined the terms intersectionality and CRT, which are very important in examining the problems in political systems and how to fix and dismantle racist systems. She and her other colleagues who coined the term CRT in the 80s are still working on it and many law schools have adopted it as a curriculum or added it as a part of their teachings.
I am writing my Human Rights Capstone on the opinions of the Conservative Right on Critical Race Theory. I feel that those in the conservative right who are in the news opposing the teachings of Critical Race Theory are simply uncomfortable with it because it dismantles the system, therefore they would (in an ideal world) have no privilege. They do not care for human rights and try to hide it with claims that CRT is divisive. Teaching about the division created by colonialism and slavery is not divisive: it is just addressing the divisive systems of oppressions that already exist. I am very excited to pursue this capstone paper because I hope to pursue CRT in law school. Let me know what you think about CRT if you have any opinions!
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Hello Ellie,
Leadership has various forms and like you said, it is a very broad term. The first people I think of when I hear the word leaders are the ones closest to me aka my family and those who help me throughout particularly tough times or those who help push me and teach me things I do not know. Like yourself, I find a lot of professors to be leaders as well, as the things they have been teaching me are invaluable. I have a strong connection with these people as I find myself gravitated towards them in an odd but comforting way. Which is why I like to research my professors a little before just picking any one randomly.
I love that you want to pursue CRT in law school and I wish you the best of luck. You obviously have a passion for this, and to be honest, we need more passionate and dedicated people like you that want to change the system which we live in that is corrupt and inhumane. Racism is all around us, it has never gone away. I totally agree with you when you say that the opposition always seems to want to fight back on the notion of racism and becomes uncomfortable when one does because it takes away their privilege and power. Dismantling this system has become a necessity and quite frankly the systems of oppression that exist today are past their ‘expiration dates’.
Great Post Ellie!