Join University of Kentucky Libraries and College of Arts and Sciences 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12, via Zoom, for “bell hooks: A Legacy Rooted in Love.”

This symposium will celebrate the life and legacy of UK Libraries' 2021 Medallion for Intellectual Achievement recipient—beloved author, professor, feminist and activist bell hooks. 

The event is open to the public. To RSVP for the event, please click here.

Proclaimed as “one of the preeminent feminist voices of our time,” bell hooks was Professor in Residence in Appalachian Studies at Berea College up until her passing in December 2021. Throughout her career, hooks also taught at the University of Southern California, Yale University, Oberlin College and the City College of New York, publishing over 30 books of poetry, fiction and critical essays. hooks’ work garnered several prestigious awards, including the American Book Award, an Image Award nomination from the NAACP, a Children’s Book of the Year designation and others.

Throughout the symposium, scholars, artists and activists from across the state of Kentucky will present and engage in conversations that celebrate and reflect on hooks’ work and its impact on literature and critical thought. Featured speakers include:

• Crystal Wilkinson, Kentucky Poet Laureate and UK associate professor of English.

• Attica Scott, Kentucky State Representative for District 41. 

• Kaila Adia Story, podcaster and University of Louisville Audre Lorde Endowed Chair in Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

• DeBraun Thomas, "Take Back Cheapside" co-founder and WUKY producer/host.

• M. Shadee Malaklou, inaugural director of the bell hooks center and Berea College chair of the Women's and Gender Studies Department. 

• DaMaris Hill, UK associate professor of creative writing, English, and African American studies.

One of UK’s most prestigious awards, the UK Libraries Medallion for Intellectual Achievement was created in 1990 to recognize high intellectual achievement by a Kentuckian who has made a contribution of lasting value to the Commonwealth. The award also promotes education and creative thought. The recipient is determined by majority vote of the UK Libraries National Advisory Board.