Renown feminist author and equal rights activist bell hooks has died of undisclosed causes, her publisher has announced. She was 69 years old.
“She was a giant, no nonsense person who lived by her own rules, and spoke her own truth in a time when Black people, and women especially, did not feel empowered to do that,” says Dr. Linda Strong-Leek, a friend of the late author-activist.
"It was a privilege to know her, and the world is a lesser place today because she is gone. There will never be another bell hooks.”
Born Gloria Jean Watkins, hooks changed her name -- which is spelled in lower-case letters -- to honor her grandmother.
Among her dozens of groundbreaking books are "Ain’t I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism,” “Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center” and “All About Love: New Visions.” She once defined feminism as "a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression."