A beloved elder transitioned today. I just wanted to say a little about what she meant to me. I discovered bell hooks work at a time in my life when I really needed it. I was going through a tough time post-grad school making sense of that experience (it wasn’t all bad, but it fucked me up a little) and what I wanted to do next. And her book Teaching to Trangress was heaven sent. It healed me and compelled me to dream about what a Black radical education could be, an alternative to mainstream system. That dream became @theblackschool. Without her there would be no TBS. Our whole pedagogical approach came from bell hooks’ writing on teaching. I was inspired by the idea of the Panther’s Liberation School and the SNCC Freedom Schools in spirit, but the actual nitty gritty (teaching philosophy, techniques, theory, and practice) came from bell hooks. Her life and work was so formative for me and my family, Shani and I actually named our daughter Baldwin Bell after our favorite writers, James Baldwin and bell hooks. So, our home has been in shambles today. There’s been a lot tears, a lot of reflections, some anger, and so much gratitude. I’m grateful this woman dedicated all her brilliance and bravery to speaking truth to power and loving up on her people. Today a friend of mine said, “Damn, I wish she could’ve visited The Black School.” I said, “Listen now that she in the ancestral plane she gon get tired of us summoning her.” And through all this sadness it gives me joy that she is in heaven letting white Jesus have it. That boy sick. RIP