Mab Segrest

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Mab (Mabelle Massey) Segrest (born 20 February 1949) is an American feminist writer and activist.

Segrest was appointed the Fuller-Matthai Professor of Gender & Women's Studies at Connecticut College in 2004. She received her Ph.D. in Modern British Literature from Duke University in 1979. Segrest has founded, served on the boards of, and consulted with a wide range of social justice organizations throughout her career.

In a nod to her effort's on women's social issues, the rock band Le Tigre mentions Prof. Segrest's name in the recent hit "Hot Topic".

Born in Alabama, Mab Segrest is best known for her autobiographical work Memoir of a Race Traitor (1994). Segrest is also recognized for her tireless speaking and writing efforts against sexism, racism, homophobia, classism, and other forms of oppression. She is credited by some as being, through her work with NCARRV (North Carolinians Against Racist and Religious Violence) the main force that drove the Ku Klux Klan from North Carolina in the late 1980s. In the 1970s, Segrest moved to North Carolina to attend Duke, where she earned her Ph.D. in English literature. Until it disbanded in 1983, Segrest worked in the feminist writing collective Feminary working to produce the journal of the same name. Feminarians, including Segrest, saw writing as a force for political change. Feminary was a Southern feminist journal that had a Southern focus and was anti-sexist, anti-racist, anti-homophobic, and anti-classist. It was a unique contribution to women’s history. After working full time with various political organizations, Segrest has returned to academia. Her work Memoir of a Race Traitor garnered much praise and is considered a key text in white studies and anti-racist studies. In this work, Segrest outlines her definition of “queer socialism,” which is how she defines her political stance. This version of socialism demands a more caring world where all citizens are taken into consideration when resources are allocated and opportunities are dispensed. She says that while there is no blueprint as yet for this form of socialism, it would be based in feminist theory and practice.