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On September 18, 2025, the Center on Law, Race & Policy (CLRP) at Duke Law hosted the 2025 Jerome M. Culp, Jr. Critical Theory Lecture, honoring the life, scholarship, and enduring influence of Professor Jerome M. Culp, Jr. Professor Culp was a pioneering legal scholar and the first tenured Black professor at Duke Law School. The event celebrated not only his groundbreaking contributions to critical race theory but also his commitment to mentorship, social justice, and intellectual courage.

The lecture opened with reflections from Professor Culp’s niece, Attorney Gabrielle Ayeni, who described Professor Culp’s journey from a small coal-mining town in Pennsylvania to becoming a nationally recognized legal scholar. Inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, Culp viewed the law as a tool for social change. Throughout his career, Culp challenged injustice, advocated for marginalized communities, and encouraged students to question systems of inequality.

Professor Mario Barnes, Chancellor’s Professor of Law at UC Irvine School of Law, delivered the keynote address. Professor Barnes is a former student and close friend of Culp. During Barnes’ address, Barnes reflected on Culp’s influence on his own academic career and emphasized the importance of Culp’s scholarship in understanding today’s social and political climate. Barnes framed his lecture around the concept of “racial retrenchment,” arguing that periods of racial progress in American history are often followed by periods of backlash and resistance. Barnes further highlighted how Culp consistently challenged narratives that minimized the effects of racism or claimed society had moved beyond race. Culp insisted that scholars and policymakers continue asking difficult questions about how race shapes legal and social realities. Additionally, Culp’s writings emphasized the importance of listening to marginalized communities, resisting racial injustice, and building solidarity across different forms of oppression, recognizing that struggles against racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression are interconnected.

Perhaps most importantly, Culp championed the use of personal narrative and storytelling in legal scholarship. Culp believed that lived experiences could reveal truths about law and society that traditional legal analysis often overlooked. Through autobiography and storytelling, scholars could challenge assumptions, expose injustice, and humanize complex legal issues.

The lecture concluded with Professor Barnes’ reflection on Culp’s enduring message: individuals and communities must define themselves rather than accept labels and definitions imposed by others. Professor Culp’s scholarship, mentorship, and advocacy encouraged generations of students and academics to speak boldly, use law as a tool for justice, and to remain committed to challenging inequality wherever it exists. You can view the lecture here.