bell hooks, born Gloria Jean Watkins, is an American author, professor, feminist, and social activist. Her work explored connections between race, gender and class and the systems of oppression in society. She published her first full-length book, Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism in 1981. Her works have been the foundation for many feminist and social activists.
Gloria Jean Watkins was born on September 25, 1952. She later took on the pseudonym bell hooks to honor her great grandmother, Bell Blair Hooks and preferred to write it in lowercase to focus attention on her message rather than herself. Her experience with racism and sexism in her community and family has been one of the biggest influences for her works. In 2014, she founded the bell hooks Institute at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. On December 15, 2021, hooks died from kidney failure, aged 69.
1 What we do is more important than what we say or what we say we believe. -bell hooks
What you do is far more important and true reflections of your character than what you say. Our actions define us more than our words or beliefs.
2 The one person who will never leave us, whom we will never lose, is ourself. -bell hooks
Even if the entire world betrays you, the one person who will always be there for you is yourself. It’s important that you give yourself the love and care that you deserve and expect from others.
3 The moment we choose to love we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others. -bell hooks
When you choose love over hate and violence, you set yourself free. Kindness and love are the highest acts of freedom and liberation.
4 All our silences in the face of racist assault are acts of complicity. -bell hooks
The silence of the people help in strengthening all forms of discriminatory culture in the world. Silence is complicity. If you are silent in the face of injustice, you are taking the side of the oppressor.
5 You have to love justice more than your allegiance to your race, sexuality and gender. It is about justice. -bell hooks
Justice transcends race, culture and gender. It doesn’t matter what part of the world you are from or what gender or religion you are, if you’ve done wrong, you deserve to face the consequences for it.
6 The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is – it’s to imagine what is possible. -bell hooks
Art is more than about showing the truth of the world. It’s also about striving for something better and breaking the boundaries of reality and possibilities.
7 If we give our children sound self-love, they will be able to deal with whatever life puts before them. -bell hooks
The biggest failure of a parent is when they fail to teach their children to love themselves. If people aren’t able to love themselves first, they’ll end up underestimating their own abilities and will fail at life’s challenges.
8 Any society based on domination supports and condones violence. -bell hooks
A society where a certain group of people are always oppressed and dominated will always have widespread violence. Such a society can never ensure justice and freedom for all its citizens.
9 The practice of love offers no place of safety. We risk loss, hurt, pain. We risk being acted upon by forces outside our control. -bell hooks
Love isn’t easy. There’s always a possibility of hurt, pain and loss. The moment we choose to love someone, we open the doors for certain suffering. Despite all of this, the joy and euphoria that love brings makes it all worthwhile.
10 To be truly visionary we have to root our imagination in our concrete reality while simultaneously imagining possibilities beyond that reality. -bell hooks
True visionaries have the capacity to base their vision in reality and at the same time imagine beyond the scope of reality. They are dreamers who can see the possibilities of a better future and strive towards making it a reality.
11 Hope is essential to any political struggle for radical change when the overall social climate promotes disillusionment and despair. -bell hooks
Hope is the foundation for all political movements. Change is inevitable when the people find the strength to believe in a better future despite the bleak social climate. It leads to unity and disillusionment.
12 Do not expect to receive the love from someone else you do not give yourself. -bell hooks
How can you expect to get the same kind of love from others that you fail to give yourself? Learn to love yourself first before you go searching for it elsewhere.
13 Without justice there can be no love. -bell hooks
If a society is unable to ensure justice for all its people it will always lack a loving environment. Justice is the foundation of love as is love the basis for justice.
14 Commitment to truth telling lays the groundwork for the openness and honesty that is the heartbeat of love. -bell hooks
Without honesty, there can never be love. If you truly love someone, you’ll always be honest with them regardless of the consequences that you may have to face.
15 Love is an action, never simply a feeling. -bell hooks
Love isn’t just a simple feeling or emotion. It manifests in your actions more than you know. It is about how much you are ready to do selflessly regardless of the obstacles.
15 Most Inspiring Bell Hooks Quotes That Show Her Profound Legacy
1. What we do is more important than what we say or what we say we believe. -bell hooks
2. The one person who will never leave us, whom we will never lose, is ourself. -bell hooks
3. The moment we choose to love we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others. -bell hooks
4. All our silences in the face of racist assault are acts of complicity. -bell hooks
5. You have to love justice more than your allegiance to your race, sexuality and gender. It is about justice. -bell hooks
6. The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is – it’s to imagine what is possible. -bell hooks
7. If we give our children sound self-love, they will be able to deal with whatever life puts before them. -bell hooks
8. Any society based on domination supports and condones violence. -bell hooks
9. The practice of love offers no place of safety. We risk loss, hurt, pain. We risk being acted upon by forces outside our control. -bell hooks
10. To be truly visionary we have to root our imagination in our concrete reality while simultaneously imagining possibilities beyond that reality. -bell hooks
11. Hope is essential to any political struggle for radical change when the overall social climate promotes disillusionment and despair. -bell hooks
12. Do not expect to receive the love from someone else you do not give yourself. -bell hooks
13. Without justice there can be no love. -bell hooks
14. Commitment to truth telling lays the groundwork for the openness and honesty that is the heartbeat of love. -bell hooks
15. Love is an action, never simply a feeling. -bell hooks