When M. Shadee Malaklou was hired as the new chair of the Women’s and Gender Studies department at Berea College, Kentucky, she received a surprising greeting from Bell Hooks at their first lunch together: “‘I was against your hire,'” Hooks said with a wink. Rather than being shocked, Malaklou embraced Hooks’ honesty, a signature trait that extended beyond her writing into her interactions.

Building a Connection with Bell Hooks

Hooks had initially believed Malaklou, a woman of Iranian descent from Southern California, would not stay long in Berea due to the town’s lack of an Iranian American community. However, hooks sang a different tune three years later, writing a glowing recommendation for Malaklou’s tenure. Now the inaugural director of Berea College’s newly opened Bell Hooks Center, Malaklou fondly reflects on her close friendship with Hooks. She experienced a side of hooks beyond the public figure, glimpsing her private, everyday persona.

The Personal Side of Bell Hooks

Over the last three years of Hooks’ life, she and Malaklou grew close. Hooks would sometimes call Malaklou in the middle of class, inviting her to share McDonald’s cheeseburgers. Another well-known quirk of Hooks was her love for Juicy Fruit gum, often asking Malaklou to order it in bulk from Amazon. These simple, personal interactions reveal the warmth and wit of bell hooks beyond her academic fame.

The Public Legacy of Bell Hooks

For most of the world, Bell Hooks is best known through her influential books, such as Feminism is For Everybody, Teaching to Transgress, and All About Love: New Visions. Initially published in 2000, All About Love resurfaced during the pandemic as a New York Times bestseller. Following Hooks’ passing on December 15, social media was filled with tributes to her decades-long contributions to feminism, teaching, and critical theory. Her accessible language and personal insights into spirituality, family, and love resonated deeply with readers.

From Gloria Watkins to Bell Hooks: The Scholar’s Early Years

Before adopting the pen name Bell Hooks, Gloria Watkins was a rising scholar teaching at Yale University in the 1980s. Rachel Chapman, now a tenured professor of anthropology at the University of Washington, recalls being one of Hooks’ students during that time. Chapman described Hooks’ classes as highly sought after and mentioned how Hooks led a support group for Black women called “Sisters of the Yam,” who idolized her.

Writing Through Pain and Anger

Chapman recalls how Hooks’ early work grappled with the pain of Black life, exploring the fine line between radical action and personal destruction. “She was writing about what it means to be young, Black, and angry,” says Chapman. These themes would later culminate in Hooks’ transformative book All About Love, which addressed the healing power of love and community.

Lessons in Social Justice from Bell Hooks

Chapman witnessed another side of Hooks during the 1992 Los Angeles riots following the police beating of Rodney King. At UCLA, hooks addressed a crowd of student activists, offering advice that Chapman has carried with her ever since: “I don’t do social justice work with anyone who’s not in a movement with me for a lifetime.” This sentiment allowed Chapman to disengage from negative encounters with racism and focus on what strengthened her.

Hooks’ Approach to Education and Teaching

Bell Hooks’ legacy in education is profound. Jody Greene, founder of the Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning at the University of California, Santa Cruz, credits Hooks’ works on pedagogy as life-changing for educators like herself. Greene explains, “Hooks believed education was about cultivating human beings, not just creating good employees.” This human-centered approach to teaching has had a lasting influence on educators worldwide.

Continuous Learning in the Final Decade

Even in her final decade, hooks continued to evolve and grow. Friends recall that she never became complacent in her ideas, constantly conversing with academics and public figures. Shelby Chestnut, director of policy and programs at the Transgender Law Center, introduced hooks to Laverne Cox during a 2014 event at the New School. Chestnut recalls Hooks’ warmth and openness when meeting strangers, inviting her and Cox to walk hand-in-hand through the West Village.

Feminism for Everyone

Hooks’ commitment to inclusive feminism was evident throughout her life. Even before the term “intersectionality” was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, hooks were critiquing white feminism and advocating for Black women in her seminal works like Ain’t I a Woman. She also worked to include the trans community in her evolving understanding of feminism, demonstrating her unwavering dedication to broadening feminist discourse.

Caring for the Next Generation

Beyond her scholarship, hooks cared deeply about the next generation. Linda Strong-Leek, a former professor at Berea College and now provost at Haverford College, recalls Hooks’ desire to see more representation of Black children in literature. Hooks often lamented the lack of books featuring Black boys simply sitting and reading. This concern inspired her to write children’s books like Be Boy Buzz to increase literacy for children of color and provide meaningful representation.

Returning to Her Appalachian Roots

Though she spent much of her life in academia, bell hooks remained deeply connected to her Appalachian roots. In her book On Belonging: A Culture of Place, she reflected on the geography of her rural Kentucky upbringing and its contrast to urban life. Her decision to return to Kentucky in the final years of her life was political and personal, as she remained dedicated to the community that had shaped her.

A Scholar of the People

Linda Strong-Leek recalls how, despite her global influence, hooks was largely unknown to many residents of Berea unless they were connected to the college or feminist theory. “I want people to remember that she loved regular people,” says Strong-Leek. Hooks’ deep commitment to her community, both intellectually and personally, was one of her most defining characteristics.