Black Lives Matter and #MeToo: New Book by Colorado Law Dean Lolita Buckner Inniss and Pace Haub Law Professor Bridget J. Crawford, Shapes Global Conversation on Race, Gender, Justice, and Reform

University of Colorado Law School Dean and Provost's Professor of Law Lolita Buckner Inniss, and Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University Professor Bridget J. Crawford, announce the release of their new book, “Social Movements and the Law: Talking About Black Lives Matter and #MeToo.” In a world continuing to grapple with systemic racism and gender discrimination, Social Movements and the Law offers a timely and critical examination of the intersections between activism and legal reform across the world through analysis of two globally recognized movements: Black Lives Matter and #MeToo. Published by University of California Press, this book tackles universal themes of social justice, gender difference, and racial equity, offering comparative insights that resonate across other social justice movements and in other countries experiencing similar struggles.

Black Lives Matter and #MeToo are two of the most prominent 21^st century social movements in the United States. On the ground and on social media, more people have taken an active stance in support of either or both movements than almost any others in the country's history. Social Movements and the Law brings together the voices of 12 scholars and public intellectuals to explore how Black Lives Matter and #MeToo unfolded—separately and together—and how they enrich, inform, and complicate each other.

“The law is not static; it evolves in response to the demands of people who refuse to be silenced. By exploring the legal impact of Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, we aim to show how grassroots activism can drive transformative legal reforms and expand our vision for a just society.”

As Dean Inniss explains, “Social movements like Black Lives Matter and #MeToo are more than moments in history; they are calls to rethink the relationship between law, justice, and social change. This book seeks to illuminate how these movements, separately and together, challenge and reshape legal systems, sparking dialogue that transcend traditional approaches.”

Professor Crawford adds, “The law is not static; it evolves in response to the demands of people who refuse to be silenced. By exploring the legal impact of Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, we aim to show how grassroots activism can drive transformative legal reforms and expand our vision for a just society.”

With its engaging dialogue format, Social Movements and the Law transforms complex legal debates into accessible, thought-provoking discussions for readers of all backgrounds. The book includes comprehensive reading lists, discussion questions, and informative text boxes and illustrations that provide additional context. This approach not only enhances the reader's experience but also makes Social Movements and the Law a valuable resource for educators, students, activists, and all those interested in the dynamic interplay between social movements and legal reforms.

The book’s content is particularly pertinent to the United States and has broad applicability in other parts of the world with active social movements and ongoing debates about social justice, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the Middle East. By weaving legal insights with social commentary, the authors invite academics, activists, and policymakers to rethink the role of law in shaping these movements and promote a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of social movements and legal systems globally.

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Lolita Buckner Inniss is the 17th dean, the second woman dean, and the first Black dean of the University of Colorado Law School, where she is also Provost's Professor of Law and an affiliate of the Center for African & African American Studies. As Dean she has worked to broaden access and equity for students, has filled vital teaching needs by hiring one of the most accomplished and largest cohorts of faculty in the history of Colorado Law, and has shepherded one of the largest clinical gifts in the history of the school. She received her A.B. from Princeton University, her J.D. from UCLA, and earned an LL.M. with Distinction and a Ph.D. in law from Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, in Canada. Her current areas of research are legal history and property law. A highly regarded leader and scholar with a prominent national and international voice in her fields, Inniss is an elected member of the American Law Institute, Chair of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Women in Legal Education section, a member of the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) board of directors and an advisor to the LSAC Investment Committee, as well as a member of the AALS Deans' Steering Committee. She is the author of many articles and essays, and of the prize-winning legal history book The Princeton Fugitive Slave: The Trials of James Collins Johnson (Fordham University Press, 2020).

Bridget J. Crawford is a graduate of Yale College (BA), the University of Pennsylvania School of Law (JD), and Griffith University (PhD) in Brisbane, Australia. Prior to joining the Haub Law faculty, Professor Crawford practiced law at Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP in New York (now Milbank LLP). At Haub Law, she teaches Federal Income Taxation; Wills, Trusts and Estates; and Feminist Legal Theory. In 2021, she was appointed as a Distinguished Professor by Pace University, the highest honor the University can bestow upon a faculty member. Crawford’s published work includes several casebooks, books, and more than 100 scholarly articles and essays. Crawford is one of 26 law professors profiled in the book by Michael Hunter Schwartz et al., What the Best Law Teachers Do, published by Harvard University Press. She has been honored multiple times by graduating students at Haub Law as Outstanding Professor of the Year. She also is a prior recipient of Haub Law’s Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Goettel Prize for faculty scholarship, and the Ottinger Prize for Faculty Achievement. She is prolific author of numerous books, articles and essays, especially on gender and the law themes, including most recently Hot Flash: How Understanding Menopause Can Improve Life and Law for Everyone co-authored with Emily Gold Waldman and Naomi R. Cahn, andMenstruation Matters: Challenging the Law’s Silence on Periods co-authored with Emily Gold Waldman.

Other contributors to Social Movements and the Law are:

• Mehrsa Baradaran, Professor of Law, UC Irvine School of Law
• Noa Ben-Asher, Professor of Law, St. John’s University School of Law
• I. Bennett Capers, Associate Dean for Research, Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair, Professor of Law, and Director, Center on Race, Law, and Justice, Fordham Law
• Linda Sheryl Greene, 1855 Professor and MSU Foundation Professor of Law, Michigan State University College of Law
• Aya Gruber, Harold Medill Heimbaugh Professor of Law, University of Southern California Gould School of Law
• Osamudia James, Henry P. Brandis Distinguished Professor of Law, University of North Carolina School of Law
• Keisha Lindsay, Professor, Departments of Gender and Women's Studies & Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Lua Kamál Yuille, Professor of Law and Business; Associate Dean for Research and Interdisciplinary Education, Northeastern University School of Law
• Ruthann Robson, Professor of Law & University Distinguished Professor, City University of New York School of Law
• Kathryn M. Stanchi, E.L. Cord Professor of Law, University of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law

Join the authors and contributors for a free, virtual book launch on November 11, 2024, 6:00 p.m. Eastern | 4:00 p.m. Mountain | 3:00 p.m. Pacific.