Reading Lead -- Keeping Close to Home

Bio of the author:

• Gloria Jean Watkins was born in September 25, 1952. She is known as Bell Hooks in honor of her maternal great-grandmother, Bell Blair Hooks.

• She grew up in a segregated community of the American South.

• At age 19 she began writing what would become her first full-length book, Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, which was published in 1981.

• She studied English literature at Stanford University (B.A., 1973), the University of Wisconsin (M.A., 1976), and the University of California, Santa Cruz (Ph.D., 1983).

• Wrote over 30 books

Background of Writing:

• The book was published in 1989

• The author wrote the book with the purpose of demonstrating how to overcome white and male supremacy

• She explores the idea of public v. private intersection

• Lastly, she writes about the meaning of feminist consciousness in daily life and about self-recovery.

Historical context:

• When the book was written, education for people of color took place in segregated schools

• President Richard Nixon came into the presidency

• At the time when this book was published, it was a time of Black Pride.

• In the mid 80’s the number of minorities who pursued a college degree increased

Summary:

The author explains in her chapter “Keeping Close To Home” just what it is implied by the title, that it is important to keep a part of home wherever one goes. Hooks tells stories about her personal life; like how it was for her and her parents when she left for Stanford to pursue a college degree. She also entails the experiences she had in college with people from different social classes, and how that led to the realization that people of color have different values than those of a more privileged class due to the fact that they form a community. Hooks writes about multiple instances when people (of various classes) have complained to her about their situations back home, or about their past experiences. With such examples, she explains that instead of feeling shame or disgust about the past, family, or home, one should feel empowered and embrace what is; which is what ultimately makes them, them. By merging education with family, community, and class in her writing, she concludes with the affirmation that education does not get one out of the values they get at home. Instead, Hooks explains that when we educate ourselves and learn about our own values and communities, as well as others, that brings us closer to home than ever before.

Discussion Questions:

1. In any way, has your experience in college made you understand more about what education brings to all aspects of your life?

2. Do you relate to Hooks’s writing in any way? If so, how?

3. Do you find it important to stay connected to your community back home in some way? Does that make us better people? Or does it depend on the case/person?

4. If the situation back home is not ideal, do you think it is still important for that individual to keep a connection? Or is it better to leave it behind and start anew?