bell hooks

bell hooks was a preeminent feminist author and social critic. She wrote about gender, race, and class, rooting her critiques in love.

She adopted her pen name in the late 70s as a tribute to her great-grandmother. The lowercase emphasizes her work instead of her individuality.

At only 19, bell wrote her first and most well-known book, Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, while an undergraduate at Stanford. Ain't I a Woman was later published in 1981 and became a landmark feminist text. In it, she argues that the intersection of racism and sexism during slavery led to Black women having the lowest social standing in society. A fact that has not changed much in the century and a half since.

She went on to publish more than 30 works in her lifetime. Some of her best-known books include: Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, Black Looks: Race and Representation, All About Love, The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love, Where We Stand: Class Matters, Killing Rage: Ending Racism, and Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics.

In 2004, bell returned to her roots and started teaching at Berea College in Kentucky. In her later years, she began writing more about love, relationships, and community. She focused on how connection and love can be transformative to the political world we live in. Her writing provides hope that change is possible.