Patricia J. Williams is the James L. Dohr Professor of Law Emerita at Columbia Law School and the long-time former “Diary of a Mad Law Professor” columnist for The Nation. She is a MacArthur fellow and the author of six books, including The Alchemy of Race and Rights, Open House, and The Miracle of the Black Leg (The New Press). She is currently University Distinguished Professor of Law and Humanities at Northeastern University in Boston.