The Undeniable, bell hooks

I was on my cell phone in a parking lot around 10:30 AM CST, with a close friend.

Suddenly in the midst of our conversation, she stopped talking and then uttered,

“Girl, bell hooks has died.”

I thought about the word LOVE immediately.

She was/is love.

Throughout my afternoon and evening, I have been listening to her voice.

I never met her in person.

On paper, I met her words:

: witty, cocky, thorough, as a matter of fact, on purpose, scholar,

: warrior poet, i define me, i love me, dare to love, dare to love me

without apology

bell….

did that for a black girl.

“Love is an action, never simply a feeling.” – bell hooks

Gloria Jean Watkins -aka- bell hooks was born on September 25, 1952 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The prolific African American writer, author, poet, and scholar, feminist and activist was an infamous champion for love of self, others, and understanding the importance of honoring love as truth in whatever circumstance – be true to love. It took me a long to understand what it means to love me, still learning. I do know what love is not or isn’t. bell hooks is/was that good to me, daring to always be radical about loving U & I in the Black, by all means necessary.

Cover Image: Photo by James Keyser © 1994.