Author: Ellie Hubbard

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!

“Making change” is something that has been so important to me since I was little, but with my imposter syndrome, I don’t really feel like I am making change sometimes. I remind myself that making a change can be something so little. I have these grand dreams of me being a Supreme Court Justice and end all systemic problems, but I make change in my community every day. I have focused my life around public service work, which is a more obvious way I make a change in my community. I am currently doing an outreach internship with the League of Women Voters NYC where I am trying to get more Hunter students registered and more knowledgeable about voting and more likely to vote. I love this because so many people don’t see how important voting is to them, but if we increase turnout numbers, it could change history in the same way Georgia changed history in the runoff elections. I also have a social media campaign where I create easily-digestible infographics with voting information to try to inundate my followers. I also volunteer at an immigration law firm and help with pro bono cases. But depending on what you mean by your community, how you make “change” could mean anything. For example, I make a change in my work community by being positive. That has an effect on the staff, and thus is a change in my community. Being a good friend, being a good person in general reflects being someone who makes a change. Even little things, like when I got 7 new Hunter students registered to vote all by myself, are how change gets made. Change needs to happen on every level, on the small and large scales. Spouting my ideas and what I learn in my classes to everyone I know makes a change in my community; it makes the people around me more educated on issues relating to human rights. Having an open mind could be said to make a change, but it all depends on what you consider a change. For me, I think the little things matter just as much!!