Netizens mourn on social media following a report saying that bell hooks, born Gloria Jean Watkins, passed away at the age of 69.

According to a press release made by her niece Ebony Motley, the acclaimed cultural critic and longtime author reportedly died at her Berea, Kentucky home due to an extended illness. Later on, her sister, Gwenda Motley, confirmed to Washington Post that she suffered from end-stage renal failure.

Adding more from the press release posted by Berea College, hooks was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on September 25, 1952. It is also the same college where the writer became a Distinguished Professor in Residence in Appalachian Studies ever since 2004.

bell hooks Contribution To The World

Her niece added, "In 2017, bell dedicated her papers to Berea College, ensuring that future generations of Bereans will know her work and the impact she had on the intersections of race, gender, place, class, and sexuality."

NPR stated that she attended segregated schools in her native Christian County. She finished her undergrad degree at Stanford University in California, a master's degree in English at the University of Wisconsin, and a doctorate in literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

In her long career as an author, she published more than 30 books, beginning with her poetry collection in 1978 called "And There We Wept." It was published when she became a lecturer at the University of Southern California, per Independent.

Apart from the poetries she wrote, hooks was also given ​​credits to her works, including 1981's "Ain't I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism" in 1981, "Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom" in 1994, and "Rock my Soul: Black People and Self-Esteem" in 2003.

The source also explained that Watkins stylized her name without capital letters to "focus attention on her ideas as opposed to her identity" while also paying tribute to her maternal great-grandmother, Bell Blair Hooks.

Words from co-authors emerged online, sharing their tribute to hooks. Roxane Gay, the author of the New York Times best-seller "Bad Feminist," wrote, "Oh my heart. bell hooks. May she rest in power. Her loss is incalculable."

"How to Be an Antiracist" writer Ibram X Kendi also posted, "The passing of bell hooks hurts, deeply. At the same time, as a human being I feel so grateful she gave humanity so many gifts. Thank you, bell hooks. Rest in our love."


May her soul rest in peace.