feminism is for everybody: a tribute to the work of bell hooks

“Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” – bell hooks

In 2021, the world lost feminist thinker, author, and social activist bell hooks. Author of over 40 books on feminism, race, and class, including Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women in Feminism; Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center; All About Love; and Feminism Is for Everybody, hooks’ work encouraged accessibility to feminist theory beyond academic circles—through art, music, and popular culture. Recognizing the historic racism and classism in the white feminist movement, hooks wrote of an inclusive movement to end sexist oppression and asserted that race cannot be separated from gender, history, and class when considering a person’s freedom.

In honor of the life and work of bell hooks, we begin Women’s History Month with a concert of original musical and multimedia works inspired by the struggle against sexist oppression. Led by Associate Professor Hayley Thompson-King, this concert will feature students and faculty of diverse gender identities. Thompson-King and her collaborator, visual artist Ann Kraus, will present a portion of their multimedia performance piece, Deerheads, a dialogue of video art and vocal composition.