bell hooks will speak on Monday, October 2, beginning at 7 p.m. at Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain St. NE. The event is free and open to the public; doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
hooks was born Gloria Jean Watkins but uses her great-grandmother's name for her writing and prefers the lower-case spelling because, "It's the substance in my books, not who is writing them that is important," she said.
At age 19, hooks began writing "Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism." She has since continued to be critical of the way black women have been ignored by the mainstream feminist movement and the black liberation struggle. She has published more than 30 books, ranging in topics from black men and masculinity to self-help, engaged pedagogy to personal memoir, and sexuality to the politics of visual culture.
She has taught at Yale University, Oberlin College, City College of New York, Southwestern University and currently is the distinguished professor in residence at Berea College in Kentucky.
Funding for the lecture is provided by the Nokomis Foundation. The West Michigan Women's Studies Council is an intercollegiate and community organization that includes representatives from Aquinas, Calvin, Grand Rapids Community and Hope colleges, and Grand Valley and Davenport universities.
The Community Media Center and the Grand Rapids Public Library will show one of hooks' films, "Cultural Criticism and Transformation," Monday, September 25, at 7 p.m. at the Wealthy Street Theatre and on Wednesday, September 27, at 7 p.m. at the Grand Rapids Public Library on Library Street.
For more information, call (616) 331-2748 or visit www.wmwsc.org.
