Bell Hooks taught us how to embrace love and be accessible through her unapologetic and unwavering words. Long before the term intersectionality shaped Black feminism, hooks laid the groundwork, articulating the meaning of Black womanhood in the 1980s and 1990s. Hooks, who died on December 15, 2021, at 69, became an essential voice in feminist studies. She challenged the exclusion of women of color from mainstream feminism and gave us the vocabulary to address “white supremacist capitalist patriarchal values” and how they function as oppressive forces. A prolific essayist, poet, and cultural critic, hooks remain foundational reading for those studying feminism, race, and social justice.

The Enduring Power of bell hooks’ Work

To read bell hooks is to return to her repeatedly. Her works, including *Black Looks: Race and Representation* (1992) and *Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism* (1981), evolve with each reading, offering new insights as readers grow. Her writings, like much of Black feminist literature, push readers to expand their perspectives. Hooks encouraged critique and reflection on her work, welcoming the ongoing dialogue her words inspired. She gave many radical thinkers their voice, famously proclaiming love as a revolutionary act in *All About Love: New Visions* (2000). She empowered those living in the margins to see themselves as capable of love and possibility.

A Global Influence and Legacy

As millions mourn her passing, Bell Hooks’ teachings continue to inspire. Her fierce and inclusive politics reached readers worldwide, from India to the UK to Nigeria. Hooks’ critique of how power is structured through white supremacy, capitalism, and patriarchy was both local and global in scope. Her writings on love, representation, and cultural critique dissected figures like Beyoncé, Spike Lee, and Manthia Diawara, challenging the ethics of art and representation. In her essay *The Oppositional Gaze*, she explored the power of looking, addressing the stakes of representation in visual culture and film.

A Radical and Accessible Voice

hooks’ prose, free from academic jargon, was direct and unpretentious, yet its simplicity was deceptive in its brilliance. She modeled politics as unapologetic, rigorous, and generous. Her work gave us the tools to understand how oppression operates and the courage to challenge it. Her expansive body of work is the philosophy for getting free, and her loss is felt globally. As Black women continue to write the unfinished draft for revolution, hooks’ influence remains a guiding force.

Roots in Appalachia and Black Feminist Thought

Born Gloria Jean Watkins in segregated Hopkinsville, Kentucky, hooks was deeply connected to her Southern, working-class roots. Appalachia, with its blend of African, Native, and European heritage, shaped her understanding of land and identity. She adopted the name Bell Hooks as a political act in honor of her great-grandmother. By refusing the conventions of grammar, hooks rejected the individualistic logic of capitalism, demonstrating that her work and ideas were more important than her name. She articulated Black feminism in terms that made it irresistible and inclusive.

An Intellectual and Political Legacy

Though Hooks taught at several academic institutions during her career, she always defined her intellectual community as her political community. She returned to her native Kentucky to teach at Berea College, where she passed away surrounded by family. Hooks’ work, however, lives on defiantly beyond paywalls, embraced by a global audience for her essays on love, popular culture, and the power of representation.

Re-reading Hooks as a Radical Act

As we mourn the loss of bell hooks, people are returning to her works more than ever. She was an architect, building the scaffolding for future generations’ freedom with her dreams. In a time where Black public figures are passing prematurely—Greg Tate, Melvin Van Peebles, Michael K. Williams—hooks’ death feels like yet another wound in an already painful period. The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified these losses, but Black funerals have always been celebrations of life and community.

Re-reading Bell Hooks is an act of radical mourning, a way to honor her legacy. As we cite her works, we must understand the thinkers and influences she drew upon—Toni Morrison, Stuart Hall, Frantz Fanon, and many others. Hook was a guiding star in the constellation of Black feminist thought, and she will continue to light the way for generations to come.