On December 15, 2021, bell hooks, a visionary Black feminist writer, passed away. Four years later, Régine Jean-Charles, professor of Africana studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality studies, remembers her legacy in the wake of vast administrative funding cuts in the Ms. Article, “bell hooks Taught Us to Imagine Freedom. Universities Are Forcing Us to Fight for It.”
Dr. Jean-Charles has hosted an annual bell hooks symposium to honor the light, art, and radical imagination of bell hooks with fellow Black feminist thinkers since hooks’ passing. The symposium consistently amassed large numbers – nationally and internationally – and provided a place for Black feminists to gather, fostering collective hope. For the first time, in 2026, due to severe university budget cuts, the symposium will not happen.
Amid nationwide attacks on DEI-programs, the humanities, and academic freedom, Dr. Jean-Charles looks to bell hooks and a rich history of Black feminist resistance for a way forward.
“More than ever, we must take care of ourselves, gather in community despite the challenges, and nourish the next generation just as our ancestors did. The time is ripe for a time gathering, organizing, creativity and renewed determination to do the work we do. In this climate, Africana studies can be a sanctuary and a site of resistance.”
Régine Jean-Charles
