Author discusses love, social issues

Students, professors and fans packed Indiana Memorial Union's Monday afternoon to hear feminist scholar, poet and writer bell hooks' keynote address for Black History Month.\n"I feel enormously blessed to have so many people coming out," hooks said. \nHooks is known for her analysis of race and gender issues, said Gloria Gibson, associate vice chancellor for multicultural affairs, in her introduction.\n"She is a prolific writer and is involved with so many different disciplines, which makes her very knowledgeable," Gibson said after the speech. "We wanted a prolific speaker who would address the theme of the month, which is historical landmarks.\n"We also wanted a dynamic writer who would captivate the audience, and I think bell hooks did both of these." \nEarly in her career, hooks adopted and lowercased the name of her great-grandmother, Bell Hooks. \nSince then, hooks has written more than 20 books, the most recent being "Salvation: Black People and Love." She is an acclaimed public speaker and spends her time writing and lecturing across the country, Gibson said.\nHooks addressed several issues in her presentation, including African-American landmarks, the theme of the current Black History month, as well as the opening of the Neal-Marshall Center, an African-American Cultural Center.\nGibson said the black cultural center should be finished in September.\nHooks also stressed the importance of landmarks to our culture. She said landmarks are our testimonies to the past.\n"The landmarks that have been created show where we have been and where we have to go," hooks said.\nLandmarks for many African Americans were created by moving from the home to the public sphere, she said. hooks said the vital struggles African American's undertook occurred during this time. \nHooks read excerpts from her various books which addressed race issues.\nShe then discussed her preoccupation with love in her writing, which has recently been noted by critics.\n"My goal is to be the high priestess of love," she said.\nHooks said she wrote about love because the topic reaches the whole population. \n"I liked how she said love is profoundly political," said junior Carolyn Thomas, who attended hook's speech. hooks said this is what makes love an enduring issue.\nAnother issue hooks discussed was the civil rights movement. \nHooks said she thinks about which social movements have had the greatest impact on our lives. The civil rights movement, she said, shows the breakthroughs society has made. She said the multiplicity and diversity of the audience could not have happened if not for the civil rights movement.\nAfter discussing these issues, hooks opened the floor for questions and discussion, saying dialogue is the wave of the future. Audience members brought up a variety of issues, ranging from the Rev. Jesse Jackson controversy to President George W. Bush's presidency to education philosophies.\nHooks discussed her firm belief in the education philosophy of pedology. Pedology is the bringing of love into the classroom. Care, knowledge, responsibility, respect, honesty and trust, hooks said, are all a part of love and must be a part of the education experience.\n"Teachers should be able to express love," she said.\nGibson agreed, saying the professors in attendance should take note and implement this advice in their teaching.\n Hooks said her theme of love was the importance of encouraging love in black families. She said bringing love into black families will have a great impact on the black struggle. \n"If you have loving homes, children will be transformed," she said.\nHooks concluded her presentation with thoughts on the challenge for Christians in the world today. Christians should embody love in their actions, she said.\nHooks was met with applause at the end of her presentation. Thomas said she felt the speech was inspiring.\nGibson said she was happy with the turn-out.\n"There wide spectrum of people represented," she said, from historians to people involved in English and fine arts. \nhooks' presentation was organized by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Office of the Vice President for Student Development and Diversity.\nAudience members were invited to go to the Frangipani Room for further discussion with hooks following the speech.