Black Lives Matter and #MeToo are two of the most prominent twenty-first-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 twelve 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. Structured in dialogues and punctuated with informative text boxes, illustrations, and discussion questions, this accessible guide to an increasingly influential area of the law centers rich intersectional analysis of both movements and prompts readers to undertake further reflection and conversation. At a time of heightened public attention to the broader implications of human social behavior and interaction, this book shows rather than tells how people with different perspectives can engage one another with open minds and generosity of spirit.

About the Author

Lolita Buckner Inniss is the Dean and Provost's Professor of Law at the University of Colorado Law School. She is the author of The Princeton Fugitive Slave: The Trials of James Collins Johnson and numerous other articles and book chapters, and is the United States Special Rapporteur to the International Academy of Comparative Law.

Bridget J. Crawford is a University Distinguished Professor at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. She is the coauthor of Menstruation Matters: Challenging the Law's Silence on Periods and a co-convener of the U.S. Feminist Judgments Project.

Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Contributors

INTRODUCTION
Locating Black Lives Matter and #MeToo in Social and Legal Reform Movements

1. DIALOGUE
Historical and Contemporary Contexts of the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo Movements

2. DIALOGUE
Comparing the Movements: Goals, Assumptions, and Methods of Black Lives Matter
and #MeToo

3. DIALOGUE
Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Transformation

4. DIALOGUE
Missing Voices and the Quest for Historic Unity and Inclusivity

5. DIALOGUE
Defining Success

6. DIALOGUE
Black Lives Matter and #MeToo: Law, Culture, and Possibilities for Change

CONCLUSION
Continuing Conversations about Law, Social Movements, Black Lives Matter, and #MeToo

Selected Key Readings
Figure Credits
Index

Reviews

"Historians of social movements will often caution readers about attempting to understand any period of significant protest or collective action without understanding other parallel movements. This is true of current social movements like Black Lives Matter and #MeToo. The contributors to this work ask us all, living as we are in a time of renewed attention to race and gender, to consider the importance of each by examining their differences and commonalities. The style of this book is what is needed in this moment when debate and hard conversations seem impossible even in university settings. Through scholarly dialogue, these writers offer a road map for engaging in the critical conversations that move us, the law, and these movements toward real justice."—Melynda Price, Professor of Women's and Gender Studies and Director of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, University of Michigan

"This volume is essential reading for anyone interested in the compelling force of narrative in advancing social movements for legal reform. It brilliantly shows how the realities of everyday injustices as explored in the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements highlight why race and gender justice are integral to the project of fostering a more equitable society."—Martha Albertson Fineman, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law and Founding Director of the Feminism and Legal Theory Project and the Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative, Emory University

"Forget cul-de-sacs and intersections. This book offers perspectives on two of the most important social justice movements of our time with coverage like that of a traffic helicopter surveying the most complex roundabout imaginable—at rush hour. Both movements seek to rectify wrongs linked to race, gender, and class. Both have attracted activists, supporters, and opponents. The needs, possibilities, and limitations of each have found expression in law, politics, and culture, areas covered by the book's accessible dialogue format. This is an important, grounded assessment of where social movements stand at this critical time for our democracy."—Regina Austin, William A. Schnader Professor of Law, Emerita, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

About the Book

About the Author

Table of Contents

Reviews