Derrick A Bell, long time civil rights lawyer, Harvard Law School’s first African American tenured professor and the man who developed Critical Race Theory as a method of understanding racialized structures in American society passed away on October 5, 2011.  He was 80 years old.  Mr. Bell, who was once called the Rosa Parks of Legal Education by President Barack Obama, authored the book Race, Racism and American Law that has been a standard law school text for students pursuing a career in civil rights advocacy.

In his final address before leaving Harvard, Bell emphasized the importance of standing by one’s convictions.  “Your faith in what you believe must be a living, working faith that draws you away from comfort and security, and toward risk through confrontation,” he said.

America has lost an important voice for racial equity.