The author, professor, critic and feminist made her transition early this am from her home, surrounded by family and friends.
The family of is sad to announce the passing of our sister, aunt, great aunt and great great aunt. hooks went on to earn a doctorate in literature from the University of California Santa Cruz in 1983, where she wrote her dissertation on Toni Morrison. The book became regarded as an important study in intersectionality for its focus on the historic marginalization of Black women. By 1981, she had taken on her pen name - after her great-grandmother, in lowercase to deflect personal attention - and published her book Ain’t I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism, titled after a speech by Sojourner Truth. hooks was born Gloria Jean Watkins in Christian County, Kentucky, where she grew up before leaving to attend Stanford University. She died surrounded by family and friends at her home in Berea, Kentucky, after an illness, according to a press release published by her niece, Ebony Motley. The writer, scholar, and activist bell hooks, known for her influential work on Black feminism, died on December 15 at 69.
