The bell hooks center is a feminist hub for scholarship, activism and radical inclusion. Across campus, Bereans are now thinking and living gender beyond a binary. To meet their needs, the College opened its Women’s and Gender Non-Conforming Center in 2019, giving birth to what is now the bell hooks center. In addition to the variety of programming sponsored and housed in it, the bell hooks center offers marginalized students, especially LGBTQPIA+, femme and students of color, a space to be as they are, outside of the social scripts that otherwise circumscribe their living.
Finding the bhc, Feeling Home
“In my freshman year, I was placed in the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies introductory class, which took place in what is now the bell hooks center. The atmosphere of the center immediately made me feel safe, like I was in the right place to learn and grow. The positive energy here is unlike anything that I have ever experienced. I was thrilled when there was an opening for students to work at the center, and I applied right away. My favorite part of working as a student programmer is helping plan for and work at events where other students can come and enjoy this same positive energy. As bell hooks says, ‘it’s all about love.'”
—Mandy ’21, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies minor
Upon entering the center, visitors will be greeted by comfortable furniture and bookshelves containing some of bell hooks’ work.
(Photo: Lacy Fields ’24)
Visitors are encouraged to enjoy the aesthetics of the space while learning about bell hooks’ life and works, about the evolution of the Women’s and Gender (and soon to be, Sexuality) Studies department, and about the history of gender equity at the College.
(Photo: Crystal Wylie ’05)
All of the furniture in the bell hooks center is bariatric and accessibility friendly.
(Photo: Crystal Wylie ’05)
Printed on the columns in the space are several famous quotes by hooks in addition to the center’s mission statement.
(Photo: Tyler Rocquemore ’22)
Students are welcome to gather and study or unwind in a cozy space with beanbags, floor furniture and rockers.
(Photo: Crystal Wylie ’05)
The center also includes a large table that serves as a study and collaboration space for students. The arrangement of chairs and rockers featured above likewise invites students to study and learn together.
(Photo: Crystal Wylie ’05)