Remembering Bell Hooks: A Life of Love, Critique, and Transformation

Photographed by Lyle Ashton Harris in the early 1990s alongside filmmaker Marlon Riggs, Bell Hooks was born Gloria Jean Watkins, one of the most influential cultural critics and writers of the 20th century. She was raised in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, a small segregated town, the daughter of Rosa Bell and Veodis Watkins. Hooks’ journey from Gloria to a pioneering intellectual began in these humble roots, shaped by a childhood marked by both systemic racism and subtle acts of resistance.

Early Life and Education

Born in 1952, Hooks attended segregated schools before beginning her collegiate journey. By nineteen, she had already drafted a groundbreaking history of Black feminism. Her early experiences—her father’s work as a janitor, her mother’s employment as a maid, and the indignities they faced—shaped her understanding of resistance and dignity. Small gestures, like a defiant look or a roll of the eyes, inspired her to see the power in carving out space for oneself, even under oppression.

Hooks graduated from Stanford University in 1973 and pursued graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of California, Santa Cruz. During this period, she adopted the pen name “bell hooks,” in homage to her great-grandmother, bell Blair hooks. By 1981, she published her seminal work, Ain’t I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism, which critiqued the dehumanization of Black women and the male-centered nature of many revolutionary movements. hooks emphasized the interconnectedness of race, class, and gender in shaping identity and argued that true liberation required addressing these intersections.

The Power of Critique: The Oppositional Gaze

Throughout her career, hooks explored the power dynamics embedded in how we look at and interpret each other. Her concept of the “oppositional gaze” disrupted the white and male-centric gazes that sought to render Black women passive. hooks encouraged a rebellious, aggressive way of seeing, empowering Black viewers to critique and create art from their perspectives. Her works, such as Reel to Real and Art on My Mind, remain foundational texts for understanding how art reflects and resists societal power structures.

A Prolific Career

hooks’ career spanned decades, publishing nearly forty books and countless essays. She became a prolific public intellectual when she taught at institutions like Yale University, Oberlin College, and the City College of New York. Her sharp critiques extended beyond academia into the public sphere, addressing figures like Madonna, Spike Lee, and Quentin Tarantino. Hooks demanded more from culture—not for the sake of critique but out of love and a desire for transformative representation.

Community and Connection

hooks’ work reached far beyond the academy. She wrote children’s books, conversed about love and community, and inspired readers in college classrooms and prisons. Her 2004 return to Kentucky to teach at Berea College marked a shift in her focus. Founding the bell hooks Institute, she delved deeper into love, accountability, and intimacy themes. Her later works centered on relationships and how communities nurture and sustain one another.

Love as Revolutionary Action

For hooks, love was not just an emotion but a revolutionary practice. She often described it as “an action, a participatory emotion.” In her later years, hooks wrote extensively about the transformative potential of love—both as a force for personal growth and as a foundation for societal change. Her writings urged readers to resist despair and to find strength in daily acts of resistance and self-worth.

“If I were asked to define myself,” hooks once said, “I wouldn’t start with race; I wouldn’t start with Blackness; I wouldn’t start with gender; I wouldn’t start with feminism. I would start by stripping down to what fundamentally informs my life: that I’m a seeker on the path…where I stand spiritually is, steadfastly, on a path about love.”

A Lasting Legacy

bell hooks’ work remains a guide for understanding ourselves and the world. Her essays, critiques, and reflections inspire readers to challenge oppressive systems and nurture love within themselves and their communities. As we revisit her seminal works like Ain’t I a Woman, BlackAin’ts, and Outlaw Culture, her legacy reminds us that love, critique, and connection are the foundations of meaningful change.