Randall Kennedy

Randall Kennedy is the Michael R. Klein Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the author of the forthcoming Say It Loud!: On Race, Law, History, and Culture.

Angelo Herndon.

The Story of One of the Most Important Free Speech Cases of All Time The Story of One of the Most Important Free Speech Cases of All Time

Randall Kennedy talks to The Nation Podcast about the Angelo Herndon case.

Nov 24, 2025 / Podcast / D.D. Guttenplan and Randall Kennedy

A group welcomes Angelo Herndon to New York after his release on bail from the Georgia State Prison.

Angelo Herndon and the Radical Politics of Free Speech Angelo Herndon and the Radical Politics of Free Speech

The story ofhis landmark case reminds us of how powerful a popular front of socialists and liberals can be in protecting our civil liberties.

Nov 17, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Randall Kennedy

The Fuller Court.

Whose Side Is the Supreme Court On? Whose Side Is the Supreme Court On?

Many people who came of age in the 1950s and 60s view the Supreme Court as a force for good when it comes to race. But the court has often been the most anti-progressive branch of ...

Aug 9, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Randall Kennedy

The Supreme Court’s War on Equality

The Supreme Court’s War on Equality The Supreme Court’s War on Equality

In Supreme Inequality, Adam Cohen offers a damning indictment of Supreme Court  jurisprudence, reminding us of just how political the country's highest court is. 

Oct 5, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Randall Kennedy

Whose Side Is Clarence Thomas On?

Whose Side Is Clarence Thomas On? Whose Side Is Clarence Thomas On?

A new book argues that the Supreme Court justice’s early embrace of black nationalism is central to understanding his politics and jurisprudence. But perhaps far better guides are ...

Oct 29, 2019 / Books & the Arts / Randall Kennedy

Brown at 50 Brown at 50

Prior to the landmark Supreme Court rulings in Brown v. Board of Education and Bolling v.

Apr 15, 2004 / Feature / Randall Kennedy and Eric Foner

From Protest to Patronage From Protest to Patronage

Bayard Rustin forged a remarkable career as a social activist. Briefly a member of the Young Communist League, he repudiated communism but remained a socialist throughout his l...

Sep 11, 2003 / Books & the Arts / Randall Kennedy

Marital Color Line Marital Color Line

On November 7, voters in Alabama erased from that state's Constitution a provision dating from 1901 that declared that "the legislature shall never pass any law to authorize or l...

Dec 7, 2000 / Randall Kennedy

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