Kimberly Williams Crenshaw

rob the property of its value.

So by the time the moment arrives to take this property, it's worth less, sometimes worth less than it was when it was purchased.

So my mother was given pennies on the dollar for her apartment building, for her homes.

And of course, what that meant was the ability of generational wealth to build is basically robbed

of black property owners.

And this was all legal.

That's what turned my interest to thinking more critically about what the law facilitated because in no place other than in the conversation about urban renewal being effectively black removal was there a race explicit justification.

But it was equally devastating

to see it unfold.

And it made it clear that whether or not law is explicitly calling out its racist intentions, racial harm can still happen.

That was the observation that I took to college, to law school, and ultimately became part of how I thought about critical race theory.

You know, I think that there was never a question about whether it was the right fight or whether it was a good fight.

The only question was, how could the fight have resulted in a different conclusion?

And I think that is probably what turned me more to thinking about, well, what does our community need to be prepared to do better?

How can we see it coming at an earlier period of time so we can get ready

for the battle that is ahead.

So it made me think more strategically.

It made me think, why was mom one of the few who actually thought, well, let's take this fight to City Hall?

So I saw my mom as a warrior.

I saw my mom as holding down in her generations the stories that she learned from her mother and her father.