bell hooks

From her perch at a small liberal arts college on the edge of the Cumberland Plateau, Gloria Jean Watkins has become one of the nation’s leading scholars on intersectional feminist theory.

Born and raised in segregated Kentucky, Watkins — known by her pen name, bell hooks — taught at the University of Southern California, Yale and Oberlin, among others, before returning to Berea College. 

Her 1981 book, “Ain’t I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism,” explored the experiences of Black women since slavery. She argued that feminism had failed to consider other barriers that existed in women’s lives, including race, class and sexual orientation.

Her critique suggested that many second-wave feminist scholars had been primarily focused on the needs of white middle-class women.

Her pen name, chosen to honor her great-grandmother, is intentionally spelled with lower case letters, a choice she made to emphasize message over authorship.

— Adam DeRose