DERRY’S Guildhall was packed to capacity on Friday evening for a visit by eminent American civil rights scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw.
Professor Crenshaw added the city to her European book tour following an invitation by North West Migrants Chief Executive Lilian Seenoi Barr. The two women struck up a friendship during a visit in 2024 by Councillor Barr to the USA as part of her year as Mayor of Derry and Strabane.
Kimberlé Crenshaw, a distinguished professor of law at both UCLA School of Law in California and Columbia Law School in New York, is one of the most influential thinkers in America.
Responsible for naming two of the most contested ideas in US politics – intersetionality and critical race theory – her life has been shaped by a natural instinct to question power and to challenge what others were prepared to accept as fair.
Last month Professor Crenshaw released her hotly anticipated memoir, Backtalker, which traces her early years in Canton, Ohio, to becoming a leading voice on law and equity and an outspoken opponent of the Trump administration.
Following the publication of Backtalker, Ms Crenshaw embarked on an American and then European tour with engagements in France, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and on Friday evening, Derry.
There was standing room only as people packed into the Guildhall to hear Professor Crenshaw talk about how, as a five-year-old in Ohio during the civil rights era, she was the only girl denied a lead role in her nursery play. Puzzled by her teacher’s behaviour she talked back and has continued to do so ever since.
Host for the evening was African and Carribean Support Organisation (ACSONI) Policy Officer Takura Makoni while Migrants Forum CEO Lilian Seenoi Barr led the ‘In Conversation With…’, part of the North West Migrants Forum’s Intercultural Cross Border Inclusion Programme (ICIP) and its Black Heritage in NI: The Hidden History Project. An element of the ICI Programme puts a focus on civic, public, political, social and cultural participation while The Hidden History Project aims to educate the public on the contributions made by Black people to Northern Ireland.
Mrs Barr described Professor Crenshaw’s insights and candour as “inspirational”.
“This was a truly historic conversation on race, gender, justice and the power of speaking truth to injustice.
“At the heart of Professor Crenshaw’s new memoir, Backtalker, is a simple but powerful message – voice matters. It is about truth-telling, challenging injustice and refusing to accept the world as it is when we know it can be better.
“Professor Crenshaw spoke about Backtalker as an invitation to ‘talk back’ to the idea that the world as we know it is the only world possible. For communities working every day to challenge racism, sectarianism, inequality and gender-based violence, that message could not be more relevant.
“This was more than a book event. It was a reminder that change begins when ordinary people find the courage to speak, organise, imagine and build a more just future together.”
Following Friday’s enegagement in the Guildhall, Ms Crenshaw spent Saturday exploring Derry before travelling on to Dublin’s Lucan Spa Hotel on Sunday for another public event in the company of Lilian Seenoi Barr and Dr Ebun Joseph.
Mrs Barr added, “Thank you to everyone who joined us, to the women who showed such powerful sisterhood, to the men who stood in solidarity and most of all to Professor Crenshaw for bringing her wisdom, courage and inspiration to our city.”
The Intercultural Cross-border Inclusion Programme is supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
The Black Heritage in NI: TheHidden History Project is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
