Derrick Bell (1930–2011) was a pioneering lawyer, scholar, and civil rights activist. After working for the U.S. Justice Department, he joined the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, overseeing over 300 school desegregation cases in Mississippi. In 1971, he became Harvard Law School’s first tenured Black professor. Bell later taught at NYU and served as dean of the University of Oregon School of Law. His groundbreaking scholarship and advocacy helped shape critical race theory, challenging systemic racism in the legal system.
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