Accessing Black Voices:

Legal Scholars Derrick Bell and Randall Kennedy

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In continuation of our response to Robin D'Angelo's admonition to become attentive to the voices of Black people, our October and November meetings will feature the voices of Black intellectuals and how they understand the prevalence and persistence of racism in our culture.

Derrick Bell and Randall Kennedy, legal scholars, both recently in the news, have been speaking to us for decades about the intersection of race and legal institutions. We’ll explore their life experiences; the approach and style of their written work; and their differing points of view on each other and on the future of racism in this country.

For our October meeting the focus will be on Derrick Bell; November, on Randall Kennedy. In December we will read and discuss what each man had to say about the other and will share our thoughts and reactions.

October 28 - Focus on Derrick Bell (HERE) November 18 - Focus on Randall Kennedy (HERE)

December 14 (1:30-3:00) - Comparison and Critiques (HERE)

Check out the introductory articles below, then go to the individual pages using the links above or in the menu bar.

Derrick Bell, Law Professor and Rights Advocate, Dies at 80 (Published 2011)A pioneer of “critical race theory,” Mr. Bell was the first tenured black professor at Harvard Law School before moving to New York University.

To introduce Derrick Bell, his New York Times obituary.

October 6, 2011

Identity PoliticsEach spring, the Harvard Black Law Students Association hosts a conference in which black alumni return to share their experiences since graduation.

To introduce Randall Kennedy, this feature article from the Princeton Alumni Weekly.

April 2, 2008

Derrick Bell - Racism is Permanent

"Should blacks put their trust in the legal process that began with the civil rights movement? He has now reached a definitive answer: "Black people will never gain full equality in this country," he writes. "Even those Herculean efforts we hail as successful will produce no more than temporary 'peaks of progress,' short-lived victories that slide into irrelevance as racial patterns adapt in ways that maintain white dominance." Bell has lost faith in engagement. Because of who he is, and because this issue seems to be splitting black culture in two right now, Bell's migration should not be taken lightly."

The New Republic 1992

Randall Kennedy - Unpredictable!

"Randy Kennedy is one of the most searching, open-minded, critical scholars of law in any subject," declares Martha Minow, dean of the [Harvard] law school. "The great thing about his work is that you can never predict where he will end up - on racial justice, he sometimes seems conservative, sometimes liberal. In his field of race and the law, he is unique in the legal academy. I don't know anyone else who has his commitment to pursuing the truth about controversial issues to wherever it goes."

Harvard Magazine 2013