Backtalker : an American memoir / Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw.
| Author/creator | Crenshaw, Kimberlé author. |
| Format | Book |
| Edition | First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition. |
| Publication | New York : Simon & Schuster, 2026. |
| Copyright Date | ©2026 |
| Description | xiii, 377 pages ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Variant title | Back talker : an American memoir |
| Contents | A note from Kim -- Prologue -- Part I : Raising a backtalker -- Race warrior girl at three -- Resistance starts at home -- "Happy talk" -- The making of a militant -- Show them what they're dealing with -- Killing them with kindness -- Ministry of song and hope -- Harbingers -- Cloudy skies -- Newark-bound -- Revelations -- On becoming a girl... a Black girl -- Et tu, mommy? -- Life, disembodied -- The shadow of your smile -- Honorable discharge -- Wilberforce -- The sleepover -- The world changes -- A raisin in the sun -- The Incredible Hulk -- "Urban renewal" -- Speaking truth to power -- A budding backtalker goes to Washington -- Moving on -- Part II : Becoming a backtalker -- Great awakenings -- The BFH -- "Ain't no stopping us now" -- Welcome to Harvard Law -- A law professor of color -- Showdown at the Ames Moot court competition -- Prof. Jim Jones -- The personal becomes political -- Tom, Jerry, and the making of critical race theory -- Part III : Being a backtalker -- A grave intersectional failure -- "Go, O.J., Go!" -- Seen, but not heard -- On being my mother's daughter -- Why "we" can't wait -- #SayHerName -- Epilogue. |
| Abstract | "One of the most influential public intellectuals in the world and the architect of the two biggest ideas to reshape the American conversation about fairness offers the intimate story of how her life gave birth to these ideas. It is not very often that someone comes along and permanently reshapes the way Americans think about two of the most important issues of the day -- in this case, race and gender. But that is what Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw did when she articulated two concepts that would forever change national and global debates about equality: intersectionality and critical race theory. Backtalker is the powerful and intimate story of how a little girl from Canton, Ohio, came up with a new way to look at the world. Crenshaw's memoir traces the way her lived experience -- as the daughter of a strong-minded teacher and a pathbreaking public servant, and as the sister of a protective yet bullying older brother -- made her see things other don't. She started to talk back, and that backtalking has continued throughout her life. It happened when she was denied a role in the kindergarten school play; when she was escorted to the back door of a private club; when Anita Hill was exiled for testifying against Clarence Thomas; when O.J. Simpson went on trial; when President Barack Obama launched My Brother's Keeper, a movement focused on boys of color only; and when the movement against police violence overlooked Black women. Crenshaw has been there for all of it. In the vein of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Bryan Stevenson, Crenshaw evokes each time and place like a gifted novelist with extreme honesty and specificity, making her book a series of awe-inspiring, deep revelations. As a result of her work, Crenshaw has become a force to be reckoned with across the United States -- at schools, in the workplace, at dinner tables, and, of course, in our public square" -- Dust jacket. |
| Issued in other form | Online version: Crenshaw, Kimberlé. Backtalker. New York : Simon & Schuster, 2026 9781982181024 |
| Genre/form | Autobiographies. |
| Genre/form | Biographies. |
| Genre/form | Autobiographies. |
| Genre/form | Autobiographies. |
| ISBN | 9781982181000 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 1982181001 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | (ebook) |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joyner | New Books | KF373 .C746 A3 2026 | ✔ Available | Want This? |