On Justice #10: Racial (In)Justice in Authoritarian Times

Kimberlé W. Crenshaw

The event examines racial (in)justice amid authoritarian shifts in the USA and in Germany. Exclusionary nationalism, securitization and repression of protests, anti-migration policies, shrinking spaces for academic freedom and civil society are intensifying longstanding racial inequalities while simultaneously constraining the very legal frameworks designed to challenge racial inequalities. As a founder of Critical Race Theory, Professor Kimberlé W. Crenshaw played a key role in coining the term ‘intersectionality’, which describes how different forms of inequality and discrimination (such as racism and sexism) intersect. At HAU, she will address the attacks on this theory and processes of legal backsliding, while also reflecting on selected chapters from her newly published memoir “Backtalker”.Kimberlé W. Crenshaw is a pioneering scholar and writer on civil rights, Black feminist legal theory, race, racism, and the law. She was a founder and has been a leader in the intellectual movement called Critical Race Theory and is also known for introducing and developing the concept of intersectionality. She is a Distinguished Professor of Law and the Promise Institute Chair in Human Rights at the University of California, Los Angeles, the Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, and the co-founder and Executive Director of the African American Policy Forum. Crenshaw writes regularly for “The New Republic”, “The Nation”, and “Ms.”, hosts the podcast “Intersectionality Matters!”, and has appeared as a commentator on media outlets including MSNBC and NPR.Prof. Dr. Cengiz Barskanmaz, LL.M. is Professor of Law and Social Work at the University of Applied Sciences in Fulda, his area of expertise include: Constitutional Law, Human Rights, Non-Discrimination Law, Critical Race Theory, Racism, Postcolonialism, and Intersectionality. His current research examines racism and structural discrimination in the criminal justice system.

Next date: On Racial (In)Justice in Authoritarian Times

• Date Thursday, 11/June/2026 19:30
• Venue HAU Hebbel am Ufer - HAU1
• Address Stresemannstraße 29 A, 10963 Berlin-Kreuzberg
• Price from €18.00

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