Kristin Henning is a professor of law at the

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

, where she is the Blume Professor of Law and the director of the university's Juvenile Justice Clinic. She is best known for her work in juvenile defense and for her book, ''The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth''. Henning also works with the

National Juvenile Defender Center The Gault Center, formerly the National Juvenile Defender Center or NJDC, is a nonprofit organization located in the United States that advocates for juvenile justice reform. NJDC changed names to The Gault Center in 2022. History The American B ...

Early life and education

Henning was born and raised in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. In 1992, Henning graduated from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

and received a Bachelor of Arts in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

African-American Studies Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...

. She then attended

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

, where she received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 1995. In 2002, Henning earned a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from

Career

In 1995, Henning was a Stuart-Stiller Fellow in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Clinic at the

. After her fellowship, Henning began working at the

Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia The Public Defender Service (PDS) for the District of Columbia provides legal defense to individuals on a court-appointed basis for criminal (at the trial and appellate levels) and delinquency cases indigent adult and juvenile defendants/ respond ...

. While working for the Public Defender Service, Henning helped organize a Juvenile Unit that was designed to meet the multi-disciplinary needs of children in the juvenile legal system and served as the lead attorney for the Juvenile Unit from 1998 until 2001. In 2001, Henning began working at the Georgetown University Law Center. In 2013, the

awarded Henning the Robert E. Shepherd, Jr. Award for Excellence in Juvenile Defense. At the Law Center, Henning is the Blume Professor of Law and the director of the university's Juvenile Justice Clinic. Henning served as the Law Center's Associate Dean for Clinics and Experiential Learning from 2017 to 2020. In 2020, amid the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

movement, Henning started Ambassadors for Racial Justice, a year-long program for defenders committed to challenging racial inequities in the juvenile legal system. In 2021, Henning was awarded the Leadership Prize from the

Juvenile Law Center Juvenile Law Center, founded in 1975, is a non-profit public interest law firm for children in the United States. History Juvenile Law Center was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1975 by four Temple University Beasley School of Law ...

. On September 28, 2021, Henning released her book ''The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth''.

Publications

Books

*''The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth'' (

Pantheon Books Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint. Founded in 1942 as an independent publishing house in New York City by Kurt and Helen Wolff, it specialized in introducing progressive European works to American readers. In 1961, it was ...

, September 28, 2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henning, Kristin American legal scholars Georgetown University Law Center faculty Duke University alumni Yale Law School alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni 21st-century African-American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers American civil rights activists American women civil rights activists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Lawyers from Washington, D.C. 20th-century African-American lawyers