R.I.P. Derrick Bell, Pioneer of Critical Race Theory
On Wednesday of this week, the world lost several visionaries. Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, a prominent civil rights activist, and Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, Inc. both died. But there was a third visionary whose light went out on Wednesday: Derrick Bell.
Bell was a visiting professor of law at New York University School of Law when he died. He is considered a pioneer of critical race theory, which theory examines issues of race, racism, and power in law and legal institutions. But while he had spent most of his life as an academic, his roots – and his defining experiences – were in civil rights.