In 'Backtalker,' Kimberlé Crenshaw turns from political theory to personal memoir
Podcast: NPR's Book of the DayPublished On: Thu May 21 2026
Description: Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw is a foundational legal scholar, theorist, and Civil Rights advocate, known for coining such significant and controversial terms as intersectionality and Critical Race Theory. But what — or who — inspired her work? Crenshaw examines just this in her new memoir Backtalker, which delves into her past, and the legal cases that shined light on complex and underresearched structures of inequity. In today’s episode, Crenshaw joins NPR’s Michel Martin for a conversation about Backtalker and why, as she says, “forward momentum has always been met by retrenchment.”To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedaySee pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
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