The Capital B

I'm often asked why I capitalize "Black" and "White" when referring to the racial groups. So I thought folks might like this passage by Catherine MacKinnon on why she does the same:

[I do not regard] Black as merely a color of skin pigmentation, but as a heritage, an experience, a cultural and personal identity, the meaning of which becomes specifically stigmatic and/or glorious and/or ordinary under specific social conditions. It is as much socially created as, and at least in the American context no less specifically meaningful or definitive than, any linguistic, tribal, or religious ethnicity, all of which are conventionally recognized by capitalization.

Catharine A. MacKinnon, Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: An Agenda for Theory, 7 SIGNS 515, 516 n.* (1982).

Of course, whether MacKinnon lives up to her stated ideals is far more controversial. See Angela Harris, Race and Essentialism in Feminist Legal Theory, 42 STAN. L. REV. 581, 590-601 (1990).

MacKinnon Appointed to Advisory Post at the ICC

Just a quick congratulations to feminist pioneer Catherine MacKinnon, who has been appointed as a special gender adviser to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. MacKinnon, who recently has won some major legal victories securing the rights of women in the context of war crimes, will make an excellent addition to the body as it seeks to enforce international human rights norms.

Hebrew University To Award MacKinnon Doctorate

The Hebrew University in Jerusalem will be awarding Catherine MacKinnon, one of the legends of feminist legal theory, an honorary doctorate in recognition of her work advancing woman's rights and human rights.

Take that, Washington University.

The MacKinnon Family

Did you know that the father of famed feminist legal scholar Catherine MacKinnon, George MacKinnon, was a former Congressman and appellate court judge? Not just any judge, but a Nixon appointee that was said to be "so far right he makes Goldwater look like George McGovern."

He died in 1995. I wonder what he thought of his daughter's work?