About this Event
The Oberlin College Center for DEI Innovation & Leadership is thrilled to welcome Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw to Oberlin College!
November 9 | 12–1:30 p.m.
Root Room | Carnegie Hall
Free and open to the public.
Light refreshments will be provided.
Hosted by The Oberlin College Center for DEI Innovation and Leadership.
Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw is renowned for developing the concepts of Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality, two of the most talked about concepts of the day. But to truly recognize where these ideas came from and what they mean, you have to start with the woman who founded these concepts: Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw.
Crenshaw shares her childhood experiences in Canton and beyond in her new book, BACKTALKER: An American Memoir, a powerful and intimate story of how a spunky little girl in Canton, Ohio came up with a new way to look at the world and forever changed the way we talk about race, gender, and social justice.
Personal stories rooted in national moments spill across the pages as Crenshaw recounts how her parents taught her to show love and compassion as well as how to navigate systems of power alongside behind-the-scenes stories of Anita Hill being exiled for testifying against Clarence Thomas and more. Her journey then takes readers to the present, where the concepts she spent a lifetime developing and teaching to the world have spread throughout the cultural zeitgeist, with their rising prominence making them primary targets of censorship and disinformation campaigns designed to weaken their impact on the movement for justice.
Join The Oberlin College Center for DEI Innovation & Leadership in conversation with Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw as we discuss her personal history of backtalking and what it means to be a backtalker in 2026.
Event venue & nearby stays
Carnegie Building, 101 North Professor Street, Oberlin, United States
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