bell hooks’ Second Residency

bell hooks’ second week-long residency at The New School began Monday May 5 and continued through Wednesday May 7. She led four discussions about the intersectionalities of gender, race and identity. hooks also discussed the future of feminism and how young women can progress toward creating space to explore those intersectionalities freely.

This second residency symbolizes The New School’s dedication to hosting a dialogue about race, gender, identity and sexuality. hooks will return this fall for her 3rd week-long residency. The Free Press also covered her first residency last semester and will be reporting on the third installment in the fall.

On May 5, hooks and Salamishah Tillet discussed how society views young black girls as adults instead of children. They also deconstructed the sexualization of black girls and advocated for protecting black girls and their right to be seen. Salamishah Tillet has a Ph.D. in the History of American Civilization, is an author and co-founded  A Long Walk Home, Inc., a non-profit ending violence against girls and women through art therapy, the visual and the performing arts.

The discussion was open to the public, but reservations were required prior to the talk. All of hooks’ talks were admission free. Full videos of the discussions can be found on The New School’s livestream page.

 

 

On May 6, hooks discussed elder care and death rights as potential undertakings of the feminist movement with Miriam Ticktin, director of The New School for Social Research and co-director of Gender Studies at TNS.

 

During the Q & A section, a graduate student from NSSR asked hooks what she thought of being invited to talk to students as a way to escape hiring black professors. “We have to face the reality that frequently that is the case,” hooks replied. “I’m not stupid. When I go to these institutions, I see what’s happening [and] teach to transgress and not allow myself to be the symbol of a progression that hasn’t happened.”

 

Audio: During “Feminism Talks Back” a graduate student asks bell hooks what she thinks of institutions only using her to avoid hiring minority professors.

 

Audio: Dean of Lang, Stephanie Browner shares her thoughts on the graduate student’s question.

hooks believes teachers and students should transgress and implement collaboration to keep the classroom fresh and engaging. In her book Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom hooks claims that a strict learning environment leads to less enthusiastic students because of the control teachers hold.  The discussion was appropriately titled “Feminism Talks Back”.

 

Audio: Miriam Ticktin comments on bell hooks’ thoughts on care and death rights.

 

On Tuesday evening, Marci Blackman, Shola Lynch, and Janet Mock joined bell hooks to discus how the black female body is portrayed in the media. Janet Mock published her memoir in February 2014 and she also was one of Huffington Post’s 23 Inspiring Women Blazing Trails for the LGBT Community in 2013.

 

Audio: Janet Mock, bell hooks, and Marci Blackman discuss identity.

Shola Lynch is an actress and producer, she is best known for Free Angela and All Political Prisoners, which premiered in 2012. Marci Blackman is the author of two novels, her first, Po Man’s Child, won the American Library Association’s Stonewall award for best LBGT Fiction. They also discussed the importance of identity in their lives. Watch the full discussion here.

bell hooks & janet mock – Broadband from Newschoolfreepress on Vimeo.

 

Audio: bell hooks discusses how she claimed her freedom.

 

Audio: bell hooks comments on the representation of black women in “12 Years A Slave.”

 

On Wednesday May 7, the last discussion celebrated hooks, Lisa Fischer and Kim Sykes as successful, strong, black women by sharing what led to their success.

 

Audio: bell hooks discusses reclaiming “bossy”.

bell talking about consumerism (1) from Newschoolfreepress on Vimeo.

 

Audio: Kim Sykes and bell hooks discuss the “I don’t give a shit” moment women experience.

 

 

Lisa Fischer’s singing career has won two Grammys, she has also accompanied The Rolling Stones on tour since 1989. Kim Sykes is an actress and a writer, she’s appeared in Law and Order, and West Wing.

 

Audio: bell hooks discusses her power as a black woman.

bell hooks w lisa singing from Newschoolfreepress on Vimeo.

hooks’ second residency elaborated on the dialogue she began during her first residency on intersectionalities between race, gender, and identity — highlighting the hurdles women are forced to jump over due to oppression.