Derrick Albert Bell Jr. (November 6, 1930 – October 5, 2011) was an American lawyer, legal scholar, and civil rights activist. Bell first worked for the U.S. Justice Department, then the NAACP Legal …

Sep 13, 2021 · As an attorney, Derrick Bell worked on many civil-rights cases, but his doubts about their impact launched a groundbreaking school of thought, Jelani Cobb writes.

Derrick Bell, a distinguished legal scholar, prolific writer and tireless champion for equality, died Oct. 5. He helped to develop critical race theory, a body of legal scholarship that explores how racism is …

After a valiant battle with cancer, Derrick Bell died on October 5, 2011. In Derrick was an incredibly spiritual man with a deep appreciation for gospel music. As such, it is only fitting that a biblical verse …

Sep 6, 2022 · Who Was Derrick A. Bell? Derrick Albert Bell Jr. was a lawyer, law professor, and legal scholar best known for his legal advocacy as part of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and skepticism …

When Derrick Bell became the first African American dean at the University of Oregon School of Law in 1981, he brought his established reputation as a trailblazing national thought leader on civil rights …

May 27, 2025 · Derrick Bell was a pioneering legal scholar who played a crucial role in shaping Critical Race Theory (CRT). His work continues to influence contemporary debates around social justice, …

Aug 4, 2025 · Bell was the first tenured Black professor at Harvard Law School and later one of the first Black deans of a law school that was not historically Black. He was a pioneer in the field of Critical …

Board of Education (1954), which overturned the segregation-supporting “separate but equal” doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson.

Derrick Albert Bell Jr. was born in the Hill District of Pittsburgh and received a B.A. from Duquesne University in 1952. He was a member of the Duquesne Reserve Officers' Training Corps and later …