Prof. Mary Armstrong moderates Duke forum with Kimberlé Crenshaw

Prof. Mary Armstrong returned to her alma mater, Duke University, on March 24 to moderate a discussion with Kimberlé Crenshaw, noted law professor, civil rights leader, and executive director of the African American Policy Forum.

Armstrong, Charles A. Dana Professor of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies and English and Chair of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies program, facilitated the hourlong program with Crenshaw.

Prof. Mary Armstrong

Crenshaw is credited with coining the term “intersectionality,” an approach to understanding identity and power that is focused on the cumulative effects of multiple forms of marginalization. She is a founding figure in Critical Race Theory.

Crenshaw and Armstrong appeared together on the Page Auditorium stage as part of Duke’s 19th annual Jean Fox O’Barr Distinguished Speaker Series and in observance of Duke’s centennial.

“To be asked to come back and participate in Duke’s centennial is hard to put into words,” says Armstrong, who earned a Ph.D. in English and a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies from Duke. “And to be on stage with someone like Kimberlé Crenshaw was professionally and personally thrilling.”

Read more about the event.