Black identities are diverse and complex…

— bell hooks

Both men and women remain in dysfunctional, loveless relationships when it is materially opportune.

— bell hooks

But many of us seek community solely to escape the fear of being alone. Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we can be alone, we can be with others without using them as a means of escape.

— bell hooks

By naming sexism as the problem it went directly to the heart of the matter. Practically, it is a definition which implies that all sexist thinking and action is the problem, whether those who perpetuate it are female or male, child or adult.

— bell hooks

By the end of the seventies the feared yet desired black male body had become as objectified as it was during slavery, only a seemingly positive twist had been added to the racist sexist objectification: the black male body had become the site for the personification of everyone’s desire.

— bell hooks

Certainly we can end racism with love. We can demand that the federal government change its emphasis on racial distinction.

— bell hooks

Changing how we see images is clearly one way to change the world.

— bell hooks

Choosing to be honest is the first step in the process of love. There is no practitioner of love who deceives. Once the choice has been made to be honest, then the next step on love's path is communication.

— bell hooks

Class is more than money. Class is also about knowledge.

— bell hooks

Commitment to truth telling lays the groundwork for the openness and honesty that is the heartbeat of love. When we see ourselves as we truly are and accept ourselves, we build the necessary foundation for self-love.

— bell hooks