“Berea College is deeply saddened about the death of bell hooks, Distinguished Professor in Residence in Appalachian Studies, prodigious author, public intellectual and one of the country’s foremost feminist scholars,” the college wrote.
hooks passed away in her home after an “extended illness,” according to Berea College.
Known for her writing on race, gender and sexuality, hooks published more than 30 books over the course of her lifetime, including 1981’s “Ain’t I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism” and “All About Love” in 1999.
“I have this phrase that I use, ‘working with the work,'” hooks said. “So if somebody comes up to me, and they have one of those bell hooks books that’s abused and battered, and every page is underlined, I know they’ve been working with the work. And that’s where it is for me.”
Her work widely influenced contemporary writers, many of whom shared their grievances on social media following the announcement.
Born Gloria Jean Watkins in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, hooks took her pen name from her maternal great-grandmother, Bell Blair Hooks. She won multiple awards during the course of her career, and taught at multiple universities, most recently at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky.