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 21st 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, infor, and complicate each other.
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. 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.
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. 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.
Crawford is a graduate of Yale College (B.A.), the University of Pennsylvania School of Law (J.D.), and Griffith University (Ph.D.) in Brisbane, Australia. Prior to joining the Haub Law faculty, 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 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. 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.
