Ithaca College

Some of what I enjoyed of bell hooks’ talk about race, class and feminism last night at IC

I loved her interactions with people: sassy, challenging, yet respectful. The Q&A part was the best part of the evening.

What follows are not exact quotes, but they are pretty close to her intent, I believe (note: I am not at all versed in her work) :
The key to effective change work with people is letting the “others” speak in their own voice.
What most transforms white people is when they develop/experience the love of justice. That’s when people change their thoughts and actions.
A key process of change around these issues is to help people decolonize their minds.
Start with people where they are, find out what matters to them, relate to their values. Then they may open.
We are all operating in corporate patriarchal systems, let’s be clear about that, but these systems are not closed, so you find the openings and work through them.
Not sure we can expect or achieve equality, but what we can work for is mutuality

Why would people give up privilege? How do we give up privilege?
If you love justice, you won’t seek to dominate. You make choices that are in active solidarity. Ask: What am I doing with my privilege to change this sick system? Integrity is congruence between what you think, speak and do. We give up privilege to be grounded in integrity. To feel the spiritual peace and joy at the core is greater than any privilege.

Recent studies show that black people - across class lines - are much sicker than whites, with more stress, depression, diabetes, heart conditions, etc.
Justice is the right to live with optimal well-being.
Key issue for white people is discovering the love of justice, decolonizing their minds, and choosing to work in solidarity.
A key issue for black people continues to be shedding deeply ingrained self-negation and building healthy self-esteem. With self-esteem, there is no need to cut each other or other racial groups up.
Ending domination is about doing the work of love. Start from loving where you are. 80% of women feel anger and jealousy toward other women. We need to undo this.

She recommended 3 books:
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration - by Isabel Wilkerson
Longing for Running Water: Ecofeminism and Liberation by Ivone Gebara
Towards Psychologies of Liberation (Critical Theory and Practice in Psychology and the Human Sciences) – by Helene Shulman and Mary Watkins