>> FUNDING FOR THE PRODUCTION OF "CONNECTIONS" WITH RENEE SHAW IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE MINORITY EMPOWERMENT.

>> WITH DOZENS OF BOOKS TO HER CREDIT, BELL HOOKS IS AMONG THE MOST WIDELY PUBLISHED BLACK FEMINIST WRITERS IN THE NATION.

SHE'S RETURNED TO HER KENTUCKY ROOTS AND NOW TEACHES AT BEREA COLLEGE.

A CONVERSATION WITH BELL HOOKS NOW ON "CONNECTIONS."

THANKS FOR JOINING US FOR "CONNECTIONS" TODAY.

I'M RENEE SHAW.

WE'RE DELIGHTED TO HAVE WITH US ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC FEMINIST SCHOLARS AND THINKERS OF OUR TIMES BELL HOOKS.

SHE'S WRITTEN MORE THAN 30 BOOKS AND IS PALM FOR HER CRITIQUES WITH GENDER, RACE, CLASS AND CULTURE.

SHE RETURNED HOME A FEW WEEKS AGO TO BECOME A DISTINGUISH PROFESSOR AT BEREA COLLEGE AND WE ARE SO DELIGHTED THAT SHE IS HERE WITH US TODAY.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

>> I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE.

>> WELCOME HOME OFFICIALLY.

I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN HERE FOR SOMETIME BUT I HAVEN'T GOTTEN A CHANCE TO SAY IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU IN KENTUCKY.

>> WHEN YOU COME HOME BECAUSE YOU WANT TO YOU NEVER GET TIRED OF PEOPLE WELCOME YOU HOME.

>> AND WE'RE GOOD IN KENTUCKY ABOUT REPEATING IT BECAUSE WE'RE SO GLAD TO HAVE YOUR BRAIN TRUST BACK OUR SOIL.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE BACK HOME?

>> I THINK PART OF WHY I WANTED TO AM COULD BACK HOME IS BECAUSE MY KENTUCKY ROOTS ARE REALLY WHAT MADE ME WHO I AM AND IT'S THE VALUES THAT I GREW UP WITH AND I WANTED TO BE BACK IN A WORLD WHERE THOSE VALUES REALLY MATTER.

AND BEREA, KENTUCKY, IS CERTAINLY A PLACE WHERE VALUES OF CIVILITY, COURTESY, COMMUNITY ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.

>> AND BEREA COLLEGE CERTAINLY SUCH AN ASSET TO THE AREA, AND WE HAD YOUR COLLEAGUE, DR. BILL TURNER AT THE START OF THE SEASON, AND HE JUST BRAGGED ABOUT WHAT AN ASSET BEREA IS TO THE AREA AND HOW PROUD HE'S HE IS TO BE THERE.

I'M SURE THAT IS RUBBED OFF ON YOU.

>> TO ME BEREA IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE STUDENTS AT PER A ARE -- BEREA ARE PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF COMING FROM CHRISTIAN, OFTEN WORKING CLASS FAMILIES WHERE THEY HAVEN'T HAD A LOT OF EXPERIENCE OF THE WORLD, CERTAINLY I HAD NEVER BEEN ON A CITY BUS OR AN AIRPLANE WHEN I LEFT MY SMALL TOWN TO GO TO STAND FORD UNIVERSITY, AND THAT'S SO MUCH ABOUT WHAT MY NEW WRITING, WHICH IS ABOUT PLACE.

I WAS TELLING RENEE WITH THE LONGING, THE CULTURE OF PLACE BECAUSE I THINK THAT THAT WHOLE SENSE OF COMING FROM A SMALL TOWN WORLD AND MOVING INTO A COSMOPOLITAN WORLD REALLY IS SUCH A KIND OF CLASSIC AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.

BUT I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE THE GREAT THING ABOUT BEING FROM THE COUNTRY AND THE SMALL TOWN IS THAT YOU CAN -- YOU CAN GO OUT AND HAVE A WIDER EXPERIENCE, BUT YOU ALSO HAVE HAD THE DEEP AND PROFOUND EXPERIENCE OF GROWING UP IN A SMALL COMMUNITY WHERE PEOPLE CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER, WHERE PEOPLE REALLY SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER, AND YOU CAN HAVE THAT AND JOIN IT WITH THE CITY EXPERIENCE, BUT PEOPLE IN CITIES RARELY GET TO HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE.

>> OR EVEN DESIRE TO, PERHAPS, TO HAVE THAT KIND OF EXPERIENCE.

AND WE SHOULD EXPLAIN THAT YOU COME FROM WHAT WE CALL HOP DOWN, HOPKINSVILLE, KENTUCKY, YOUR BIRTHPLACE, YOUR HOME DOWN.

>> WHERE MY PARENTS STILL ARE.

>> AND I WANT YOU TO TELL EVERYONE HOW OLD OR HOW YOUNG YOUR FATHER IS.

>> I WAS TELLING RENEE THAT MY DAD IS GO 8 YEARS OLD AND THAT HE WAS RELUCK TAB TO CELEBRATE HIS BIRTHDAY.

I WAS SAYING, DAD, GIVEN THE LIFE SPAN OF INDIVIDUALS, MEN IN THIS NATION, THE FACT THAT YOU ARE 88 AND YOU'RE READING, I'M WRITING A NEW BOOK ON TEACHING AND I WAS WRITING ABOUT MY DAD YESTERDAY THAT HE IS STILL A READER, AND I WAS LAUGHING ABOUT THE FACT THAT HE READ WITH THESE BIG MAGNIFYING GLASSES, BUT HE'S STILL A PERSON WHO IS STAYING UP ON THROUGH READING AND EXPLORING HIS FIND AND LEARNING NEW THINGS, AND THINK YOU CAN'T BEAT THAT.

>> AND CHALLENGING HIS MIND.

AND HIS YOUNGER BRIDE, YOUR MOTHER.

>> SHE'S 76.

MOM HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED, IN FACT THE LAST ESSAY IN THIS BOOK "BELONGING" IS ABOUT WHERE AND HIM AND THEIR 60-SOME YEAR MARRIAGE BECAUSE IT WASN'T UNTIL I WENT AWAY TO COLLEGE THAT I HAD ANY IDEA THAT BLACK MEN AND WOMEN DIDN'T STAY MARRIED FOREVER BECAUSE THE PEOPLE I GREW UP WITH THIS KENTUCKY, MY GRANDPARENTS, MY PARENTS STAYED MARRIED FOREVER, AND IN FACT, I'M TALKING ABOUT THEM IN THIS CHAPTER "COMMUNITY OF CARE," AND JUST, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT MEANT FOR US THAT THEY ARE COMMITTED TO ONE ANOTHER.

I'M TALKING ABOUT MY GRANDPARENTS, TOO, WHO WERE MARRIED MORE MORE THAN 60 YEARS.

I SAY THAT AS A WITNESS TO THEIR LIVES, I CAN TESTIFY THAT THEY ARE WERE FINE, DISCIPLINED EXAMPLES OF THE ASPECTS OF LOVE, OF CARE AND COMMITMENT.

AND I THINK THAT THESE TWO MARRIAGES LASTED SO LONG PRECISELY BECAUSE THEY TOOK PLACE IN THE CONTEXT OF COMMUNITY.

A LOT OF MY COMING BACK TO KENTUCKY HAS BEEN, ALSO, ABOUT HOW WE THINK AND DREAM AND IMAGINE COMMUNITY REMEMBER RENEE.

I START OFF TALKING ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE IN OUR NATION FEEL VERY LOST AND FEEL THAT THEY DON'T HAVE A PLACE TO BELONG.

AND I LAUGH BECAUSE IN MY OWN SEARCH FOR A PLACE OF BELONGING, I HAVE TO CONFESS KENTUCKY WASN'T ON MY LIST.

>> SURE.

SURE.

>> SO I TALK ABOUT WHY KENTUCKY, WHY COMING HOME TO KENTUCKY THROUGHOUT THIS BOOK OF "BELONGING."

AND THE SENSE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE A PLACE WHERE YOU LOVE THE LANDSCAPE.

I LOVE THE LANDSCAPE OF KENTUCKY, THE HILLS, THE MOUNTAINS.

>> THE CHANGE OF SEASONS?

>> ALL OF THE PRECIOUS THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO PROTECT.

CERTAINLY I WRITE ABOUT MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL IN THIS BOOK AND THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DO.

BUT I THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE A PLACE WHERE YOU FEEL THAT YOU REALLY BELONG ON FAMILIAR GROUND.

>> AND CONSIDERING THAT YOU CAME FROM I GUESS YOU COULD SAY HOPKINSVILLE IS WESTERN KENTUCKY, HOW FAMILIAR WERE YOU GROWING UP AND HOW HAS IT BEEN A JOURNEY FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND APPALACHIA AS SOME OF US UNDERSTAND APPALACHIA TO BE?

>> IT'S INTERESTING THAT YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL JOURNAL THAT WE PUBLISH AT THE COLLEGE APPALACHIAN HERITAGE, AND I HAVE A PIECE IN THERE WHERE I WAS SAYING THAT GROWING UP INTERFACING WITH BLACK PEOPLE IN EASTERN KENTUCKY, REALLY IS THE IDEA OF APPALACHIA WAS NOT AS STRONG AS BLACK PEOPLE LIVING SORT OF OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARIES BECAUSE I GREW UP IN THE HILLS OF KENTUCKY AS A GIRL, NOT IN TOWN, AND SO MY SENSE OF MY WORLD WAS MUCH MORE ABOUT NATURE, SORT OF BOUNDLESSNESS OF A SENSE OF AN EXPANSIVE FRONTIER.

EVEN IF MY NEW BOOK I HAVE AN ESSAY ON TOBACCO BECAUSE TOBACCO PLAYED SUCH A ROLE IN THE LIVES OF OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE IN MANY SOUTHERN STATES AND IN KENTUCKY, THAT WHEN I THINK OF CHILDHOOD, WHAT COMES TO MY MIND ARE FIELDS AND FIELDS OF TOBACCO AND THE HILLS.

AND SO IN THAT SENSE A LOT OF WHAT I THINK OF AS MY ORGANIC CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE RESONATES WITH ALL THE BLACK PEOPLE THAT I HAVE TALKED TO WHO, LIKE BILL, WHO ARE FROM EASTERN KENTUCKY AND WHO HAVE HAD SIMILAR SENSES OF WHAT IT MEANS TO GROW UP IN A WORLD WHERE THE PRIVILEGES OF SELF-DETERMINATION AND INDIVIDUALS TAKING CARE OF THEMMEST.

>> AND IT'S INTERESTING WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE PHYSICAL LAND CAPE OF KENTUCKY HAS CHANGED SO MUCH, NOT JUST WHEN YOU FIRST ARRIVED ON THE SCENE BUT JAWS IN THE LAST TEN, 20 YEARS, TALKING ABOUT WE DON'T HAVE THE VAST FIELDS OF TOBACCO ANYMORE AND THAT HOW MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL, THOSE THINGS ARE CHANGING THE PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE OF WHAT KENTUCKY IS ABOUT, AND HOW THAT'S REALLY A PART OF THE CULTURE AS ANYTHING ELSE, IS THAT PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE.

>> AND I THINK THAT'S WHY THE ISSUES SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTISM ARE SO CRUCIAL.

AND ONE OF THE BIG MYTHS THAT I'M TRYING TO CHALLENGE IN "BELONGING" IS THAT BLACK PEOPLE HAVEN'T BEEN INTERESTED IN THE ENVIRONMENT.

I REALLY TALK IN THIS BOOK ABOUT BLACK FARMERS AND ORGANIC FARMING AMONG BLACK PEOPLE AND THE FACT THAT THESE HISTORIES, I MEAN, WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHEN THE LEXINGTON HERALD DID A WHOLE PIECE ABOUT BLACK FARMERS AND PEOPLE BEING RUN OFF THEIR LAND BECAUSE THIS IS OUR HISTORY THAT PEOPLE ARE FORGETTING.

IMAGINE WHAT OUR WORLD WOULD LOOK LIKE IF A LOT OF BLACK PEOPLE WERE COMING BACK TO THEIR AGRARIAN ROOTS AND GROWING THEIR OWN FOOD AND BEING ENGAGED IN LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION.

AND THERE ARE MANY OF US HERE IN KENTUCKY, CERTAINLY JIM EMBRY HAS BEEN A BIG READ LEADING LIGHT IN TALKING ABOUT ENVIRONMENT AS MANY AND ACKNOWLEDGING THAT FOR US AS AFRICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE WHO ARE PROFOUNDLY AN AGRARIAN PEOPLE, EVE WE HAVE A TRAUMA STAKE IN SUSTAINA ABOUT IT AND ENVIRONMENTAL AS MANY.

AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE THINGS I'M TRYING TO WRITE ABOUT IN THIS BOOK "BELONGING, A CULTURE OF CASE BO."

>> SPEAKING OF JUMP, A SHAMELESS PLUG, IF YOU WANT TO SEE THAT SLEW INTERVIEW GO TO OUR WEBSITE.

HE DOES TALK ABOUT SUSTAINABLE LIVING AND HOW HE'S DOING THESE NEIGHBORHOOD GARDENS AND IT'S CATCHING ON WITH KIDS MORE SOWN ANYONE.

THEY CAN GET THAT YOU ARE HANDS IN THE DIRT AND PLATE WITH WORMS, AND IT'S GETTING BACK TO YOUR ROOTS LITERALLY.

>> AND A STEWARDSHIP OF THE LAND.

ONE WONDERFUL THING HAVE ANY THIS BOOK FOR ME IS I TALK ABOUT THE WRITER OF WENDELL BARRY WHO WAS SO IMPORTANT TO ME GROWING UP AND THAT GOING TO HIS TOWN OF PORT ROYAL AND TALKING WITH HIM, AND HE CERTAINLY WRITES IN THE HIDDEN WOUND ABOUT THE TWO ELDERLY BLACK PEOPLE WHO WERE SO IMPORTANT IN HIS CHILDHOOD WAS AS PEOPLE WHO YOU KNOW THE WOODS, WORK WITH HERBS AND SO THAT WE HAVE THAT WHOLE SENSE OF A DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIP OF BLACK PEOPLE TO THE LAND, NOT AS BLACK PEOPLE AS ESTRANGED FROM THE LAND.

AND WENDELL REALLY, I CALL OUR TALK A HEALING CONVERSATION BECAUSE I THINK THAT HERE WE ARE WITH SUCH GREAT DISTANCES IN OUR AGES AND IN YET HIS WORK, I SAID HE'S HE SET A ROLE MODEL FOR ME AND OTHER BLACK PEOPLE RETURN FROM TO THE SOUTH FROM THE NORTH.

AND I THINK THAT THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.

OUR PROJECT RIS ARE VERY SIMILAR BECAUSE HE WENT OUT TO CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK, THE PLACES THAT I, TOO, WENT AND THEN FELT THAT URGE, THAT CALL TO HOME, THAT IT'S TIME TO COME BACK.

>> AND THAT YOU'LL STAY HERE.

>> OH, I PLAN ON STAYING HERE UNTIL I DIE, WHICH I HOPE WILL BE MANY, MANY, MANY YEARS FROM NOW.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

I BECAME VERY FARM WITH YOUR WORK WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE AND "SISTERS OF THE YAM" IS ONE OF MY FAVOR BOOKS OF ALL TIME.

>> MINE, TOO.

>> IT'S A CHEF RECOVERY BOOK.

IT TALKS ABOUT BODY IMAGE AND SKIN COLOR AND HAIR AND HOW MEDIA PORTRAYAL AND HOW WE TRY TO LIVE UP TO ALL THOSE THINGS.

HOW HAVE YOU SEEN YOURSELF GROW?

BECAUSE IT SEEMS LINING ARE YOU DEPARTING FROM THAT FEMINIST THEY'REY AND PHILOSOPHY TO MORE OF THIS?

>> ACTUALLY, NO, BECAUSE I THINK ANY GENUINE FEMINIST MANY REALLY IS ABOUT WHOLENESS AND SELF-LOVE FOR WOMEN AND MEN.

I BELIEVE THAT PATRIARCHY HAS NO GENDER.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FEMINISTIM WEEK I SAY IN MY BOOK THAT FEMINISTIM IS NOR ANYBODY.

I THINK ABOUT MY JOURNEY OF WHOLENESS, OF COMING BACK TO KENTUCKY, AND THAT'S TIED INTO MY JOURNEY AS A FEMINIST BECAUSE IT WAS AS A YOUNG GIRL HERE IN KENTUCKY DECIDING THAT I WANTED TO BE AN INTELLECTUAL THINKER, A WRITER, THAT WENT AGAINST THE GRAIN OF HOW I WAS RAISED BECAUSE I WAS CERTAINLY RAISED IN A VERY SERIOUS CHRISTIAN HOME THAT A WOMAN'S PLACE IS TO BE SILENT, DIDN'T TALK BACK.

>> AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID.

>> EXACTLY.

IT'S A KIND OF CONUNDRUM BECAUSE I THINK ON ONE HAND ESPECIALLY A LOT OF BLACK GIRLS ARE RAISED IN THE SOUTH THAT THIS IS WHAT A LADY SHOULD BE, BUT THEN YOU'RE ALSO TOLD THATS A BLACK FEMALE IF YOU ARE GOING TO SURVIVE IN THIS WORLD, MY MOTHER KNEW THAT HER DAUGHTERS NEED TO GET EDUCATED, THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES AND NOT FEEL THAT THEY CAN RELY ON A MAN.

IF YOU'VE GOT A MAN, YOU CAN RELY ON HIM, FANTASTIC, BUT THE IMPETUS WAS TOWARD YOUR OWN SELF-DEVELOPMENT AND SELF-ACTUALIZATION.

I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE, RENEE THAT IF YOU ASK ME TO TALK ABOUT WHO I AM, THE FIRST THING I'M GOING THE SAY IS I'M A SEEK ORE A SPIRITUAL PATH BECAUSE I FEEL THAT IT'S THAT SPIRITUAL GROUNDING OF MY BEING THAT HAS SUSTAINED ME AND BUOYED ME AND MADE ME WHO I AM AS WELL SO I TELL PEOPLE I DON'T WAKE UP IN MORNING AND I THINK A BLACK WOMAN IS WAKING UP OR A THEM FIS WOMAN.

THE FIRST THING I DO WHEN I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING IS GIVE PRAISE THAT WE ARE ALIVE AND THAT WE ARE GREETING ANOTHER WONDERFUL COLD DAY.

>> HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN THAT DAY OR DID YOU WAKE UP THINKING, OH, ANOTHER DAY AS A BLACK WOMAN?

>> NO, I THINK I WAS ALWAYS THAT WAY, AND IN PART IT WAS TIED TO GROWING UP AS A CHILD IN ISOLATION AND IN A WORLD WHERE YOU REALLY ARE ATTUNED TO YOUR SENSES AND THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.

I HAVE A HOME IN THE HILLS DOWN IN BEREA, AND WHEN YOU'RE OUT THERE AND IT'S SO QUIET, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND I COME THERE AND WE OFTEN SIT ON THE PORCH -- PRACTICE CLOSING OUR EYES AND LISTING TO SOUNDS, AND THAT'S THE KIND THING WE DID AS KIDS GROWING UP ON THE HILL.

AND JUST PAYING ATTENTION TO THE BIRDS AND ANIMALS AND EVERYTHING.

AND I THINK THAT FOR ME IT'S BEEN A CIRCULAR JOURNEY FROM THOSE THINGS INTO A MORE COSMOPOLITAN WORLD WHERE I HAVE HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE, YOU KNOW, TO WRITE THESE BOOKS AND TO BECOME AN INTELLECTUAL AND TO BE READ AROUND THE WORLD, BUT THEN DO COME BACK TO THAT PLACE OF YOUR GROUNDING, YOUR FOUNDATION.

>> I DIDN'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT YOU BUT I WANTED TO AI SAY ONE, OF THE POINTS YOU DO MAKE IN "SISTERS OF THE YAM" IS ARE WE SO MODERN, ARE WE SO COSMOPOLITAN, THE WORD YOU'RE USING NOW, THAT WE HAVE LOST OURSELVES?

>> I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE IN OUR NATION FEEL THEY DON'T HAVE A SINCE OF IDENTITY AND THEY'RE NOT SURE WHAT THEIR VALUES ARE, AND I THINK THAT THAT'S LEADING LOTS OF PEOPLE, THAT'S WHAT ANOTHER WRITER HAD BEGUN TO WRITE ABOUT, TOO, COMING BACK TO PLACES WHERE PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO BE AT HOME IN THE UNIVERSE.

AND THERE'S NOTHING LIKE BEING HOME IN A UNIVERSE WHERE YOU DO HAVE A HISTORY AND YOUR ANCESTORS, I MAN, THE FIRST THING I DID WHEN I BOUGHT MY HOUSE ON THE HILL WAS TO GIVE PRAISE TO THE ANCESTORS, THE NATIVE PEOPLE AND OUR AFRICAN-AMERICAN ANCESTORS WHO WORKED THIS LAND, WHO, YOU KNOW, GIVE US A LEGACY TO BE TRULY PROUD OF.

>> AND THAT APPALACHIA, AS DR. TURNER SAID, YOU KNOW, WHEN HE WAS GROWING UP IN HARLEM AND LYNCH, THERE WAS A VERY DIVERSE POPULATION.

IT WAS ONLY WHEN HE CAME TO LEXINGTON AND THE FLAGSHIP UNIVERSITY NEXT DOOR TO US HERE THAT HE REALIZED THAT HE WAS A MINORITY, AND THERE IS SUCH A RICH, DIVERSE CULTURE IN APPALACHIA THAT PERHAPS MANY OF US JUST DON'T KNOW.

>> ONE OF THE JOYS IN THE APPALACHIAN STUDIES IN BEREA IS ONE OF OUR GOALS IS TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE OF THE DIVERSE TIS OF AP LAW SHAW, THAT I WAS MANY DIMENSIONS AND THERE MANY MORE COMMONALITIES BETWEEN BLACK PEOPLE RAISED IN THE HILLS AND WHITE PEOPLE THAN WE HAVE BEEN LED TO BELIEVE.

>> YES.

I THINK THAT'S SO VERY TRUE.

I WANT TO GET BACK TO YOUR EARLIER ROOTS, AND I WANT TO RESIST CALLING YOU GLORIA.

DO YOUR MOM AND DAD, THEY STILL CALL YOU YOUR BIRTH NAME, GLORIA.

>> >> MY SIBLINGS CALL ME BIRTH BARREL OR GLORIA JEAN, AND I CALL MYSELF AND MY MOM ALWAYS CALLS ME GLORIA JEAN.

>> USUALLY THEY SAY.

>> ORA OR.

>> ORA JEAN.

>> -- GLORA.

>> THAT WAS MY MOTHER'S, MOTHER'S, MOTHER'S NAME AND EARLY ON IN THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT WE FOUND OUT THAT MANY OF US DID NOT KNOW OUR MOTHER'S MOTHER'S MOTHER'S NAME, THAT WE CAN ONLY TRACE OUR HISTORY THROUGH THE FATHER'S LINE, SO THE IDEA OF RECOVERING WEAPONS HISTORY AND STORIES, SEVERAL OF THE STORIES IN THIS ESSAY ARE ABOUT QUILTING.

AND I WRITE ABOUT MY GRANDMOTHER REALLY FEELING LIKE THIS IS SO MUCH FOR A WOMAN TO LEARN ABOUT PATIENCE AND SPIRIT OF H. SPIRITUALITY, FROM WORKING AND CREATIVITY.

I THINK A LOT OF IT IS UNCOVERING THOSE THINGS.

MY GRANDMOTHER DADA COULDN'T READ OR WRITE, BUT AS A QUITMAKER SHE WAS JUST AN AWESOME, WONDERFUL QUILTMAKER, AND THAT CREATIVITY, THAT SENSE OF HER IMAGINATION, WHAT IT MEANS TO RECLAIM THAT.

BECAUSE I THINK ABOUT THE QUILTS OF G'S BEND, AND I WRITE ABOUT THE QUILTS OF G'S BEND IN HERE AND WHAT IT MEANS TO THINK OF WOMEN WHO CREATE AMAZING ART BUT WHO HAVE VERY LITTLE RESOURCES, BUT IT'S COMING FROM THAT REALLY AMAZING SOULFUL PLACE WITHIN.

IS AND SO A LOT OF USING THE NAME BELL HOOKS IS CALLING FOR THESE FEMALE ANCESTORS WITH WHOM WE HAVE HAD THAT CONNECTION.

I LOVE THAT YOUR SHOW IS CALLED "CONNECTIONS."

THAT ACTUALLY LIVED THROUGH US IN A KIND OF CYCLE HISTORY.

I FEEL LIKE THE BELL HOOKS, WHO WAS SUPPOSEDLY, SHE KNEW ME AS A BABY BUT I DIDN'T KNOW HER, A WOMAN OF STRONG AND POWERFUL SPEECH, I SAW THAT AS WHAT I WAS TRYING TO BE.

>> RIGHT.

>> AND I THINK THAT THAT'S SO CRUCIAL, THAT WE CLAIM THOSE ANCESTORS.

>> AND THE LOWER CASE USE OF IT UP.

DON'T CAPITALIZE THE B IN THE BELL OR THE "H" IN THE HOOK.

>> INITIALLY WAS HOPING THAT PEOPLE WOULD SAY IT'S NOT IMPORTANT WHO'S TALKING.

IT'S IMPORTANT WHAT'S BEING HEAD.

BUT, OF COURSE, PEOPLE GET FASCINATED BY THE LOWER CASE.

BUT AT LEAST IT GIVES -- >> BUT IT DID THE OPPOSITE, ACTUALLY?

DID IT DRAW MORE ATTENTION.

>> >> IT DREW MORE ATTENTION BUT IT MADE PEOPLE THINK ABOUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT.

>> RIGHT.

>> HOSE SPEAKING OR WHAT IS BEING SAID.

AND CERTAINLY WE SEE THAT IN OUR CURRENT POLIT EQUAL SWAYING AS A NATION.

-- POLITICAL SITUATION.

IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT'S REALLY BEING SAID AND NOT WHO'S SPEAKING BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES IN A CELEBRITY-DRIVEN CULTURE, WE DON'T REALLY LISTEN TO WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING.

>> AND YOU'VE WRITTEN A LOT ABOUT CULTURAL, POP CULTURE.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

>> AND HOW MEDIA INFLUENCES OUR WHOLE IDEA OF RACE AND GENDER.

>> LET'S GO BACK TO APPALACHIA AND HOW MOST PEOPLE'S IMAGE OF KENTUCKY, EVEN WHEN I DECIDE TO MOVE BACK HERE, PEOPLE IN MANHATTAN WERE ACTING LIKE, WELL, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU ARE GOING DO THERE?

>> LIKE IT'S A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY.

>> ONE PERSON SAID, "WHO WILL BE YOUR FRIENDS?"

AS THOUGH THERE ISN'T A WHOLE SORT OF CLIMATE HERE.

AND I SUPPOSE THAT INFLUENCED ME A LOT, RENEE, COMING BACK HERE.

>> IS THAT THE REASON YOU STAYED AWAY SO LONG?

>> NOT AT ALL.

I THINK -- I WRITE A LOT IN "BELONGING, A CULTURE OF PRAISE" ABOUT THE RACISM I GREW UP WITH IN KENTUCKY AND APART HIDE, AND ONE OF THE THINGS I SAY IS OUR NATION IS EMBRACING FORMS OF WHITE SUPREMACY AND RACISM THAT I DID FEEL LIKE I WAS FLEEING KENTUCKY TO GET AWAY FROM.

BUT IF YOU FLEE ONE THING, THEN I LOST THE OTHER THINGS THAT I LOVE ABOUT BEING HERE.

BUT NOW THAT THE REST OF THE IN A SEEMS TO BE GETTING MORE BACKWARDS WHERE RACE AND GENDER ARE CONCERNED, KENTUCKY DOES NOT HAVE THAT SENSE OF BEING SO DIFFERENT FROM WHERE THE REST OF THE CULTURE IS.

AND SO I CAN HAVE THOSE WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT MY LIFE HERE.

I MEAN, I HAVE TO SAY THAT I WAS NEVER A PERSON WHO DIDN'T COME HOME.

I ALWAYS WAS HERE IN KENTUCKY EVERY YEAR OF MY LIFE.

SO I THINK THAT'S VERY DIFFERENT FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN AWAY AND THEN WHO MAKE A DECISION AFTER TOTALLY BEING AWAY TO COME BACK.

THAT HAS NOT BEEN WHAT MY EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN AT ALL.

>> RIGHT.

>> IT'S BEEN -- IN FACT, IT WAS A KIND OF PASSIONATE ANGUISH ABOUT WANTING TO BE HERE BUT WANTING ALSO TO FEEL THAT I WAS GROWING IN THE WORLD.

I TALK IN HERE, STILL TO THIS DAY MANY OF OUR GIFTED YOUNG PEOPLE IN KENTUCKY ARE MADE TO FEEL THAT THEY NEED TO LEAVE KENTUCKY TO BECOME FULLY SELF-AC ACTUALIZED.

AND I THINK PART OF WHAT SOMEBODY LIKE ME AND PEOPLE I WORK WITH AND BILL ARE TRYING TO SAY IS YOU ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT.

>> NOW THAT WE'RE SUCH A GLOBAL SOCIETY ANYWAY.

>> EXACTLY.

>> YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIVE WHERE YOU WORK OR WORK WHERE YOU LIVE, THAT'S EVEN MORE TRUE TODAY.

>> YOU CAN BE IN A PLACE WHERE THE VALUES IN THAT PLACE, I MEAN SOMETIMES I JUST FEEL A TRAWMEDZ SENSE OF BLESSING THAT I DID -- TREMENDOUS SENSE OF BLESSING THAT I CAN BE IN BEREAN, KENTUCKY, WHERE SO MANIY PEOPLE ARE COMMITTED TO PEACE AND JUSTICE AND SHARING OF RESOURCES AND COMMUNITY IN THE VERY BEST SENSE OF THE WORD.

>> DO YOU THINK THAT YOU HAVE SOFTENED OVER THE YEARS?

MOST OF YOUR WORKS I GUESS WERE WRITTEN OUTSIDE OF KENTUCKY, AND SO, ONE, DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A KENTUCKY WRITER?

BUT WHEN I THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WROTE IN "SISTERS OF THE YAM" WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE WHITE SUPREMACIST CAPITALIST PATRIARCHY AND IT SOUNDED SO MILITANT.

SOUNDED A LITTLE HARSH.

>> I WAS STILL TALKING ABOUT THAT IN A WOMEN STUDIES CLAYS 1 TO THE OTHER DAY BUT YOU WANT TO READ THIS PARAGRAPH ABOUT I SAID BEING A KENTUCKY WRITER IS FOR ME A QUESTION OF UPBRINGING AND SENSIBILITY.

ALL THE WRITING I'VE DONE AND CURRENTLY DO HAS THE PARTICULAR FLAVOR OF MY GROWING UP IN RURAL KENTUCKY HILLS AS A CHILD AND LATER IN TOWN.

THIS SENSIBILITY CAN BE LAKEBED TO A SEASONING IN FOOD PREPARATION, A PARTICULAR HERB OR SPICE USED TO FLAVOR A DISH MAKE AN DISH UNUSUAL OR OUTSTANDING EVEN.

THOSE WHO EAT THE DISH HAVE NO CLUE WHERE THE DIFFERENCE IS COMING FROM.

LIKE MANY GREAT AND GOOD COOKS, I KNOW WHAT FLAVOR MAKES MY TISSUE MEEK BUT NEVER TELL.

IN THE TELLING, IT MAY LOSE ITS DELICIOUS SEDUCTIVE ESSENCE.

AND THAT'S KIND OF HOW I SEE KENTUCKY IN TERMS OF MY WORK THAT PEOPLE WOULD READ MY BOOKS AND THE VOICE IN "SISTERS OF THE YAM" AND FEEL THERE'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS VOICE.

I SEE THAT AS BEING THAT KENTUCKY SENSIBILITY, OF VALUING SISTERHOOD, OF VALUING CONNECTION AGAIN.

AND BUT THAT I WASN'T STATING THAT.

I THINK PARTIALLY, RENEE BECAUSE I HAD BEEN TRAINED TO FEEL THAT IF WE BROUGHT THAT PERSONAL KENTUCKY SENSE SO CLOSE TO THE FORE YOU P WOULDN'T BE THAT UNIVERSAL WRITER, YOU WOULDN'T BE RECOGNIZED OUTSIDE, YOU'D PERCEIVED TO BE MORE OF THE LOCAL WRITER.

AND, OF COURSE, "WINDS" BEARS AN AMAZING LEGACY AND HIS PRESENT WRITING SHOWS THAT THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE THE CASE, THAT THOSE OLD WAYS OF THINKING ABOUT GEOGRAPHY DON'T DETERMINE A WRITER'S FATE AS MUCH AS IT USED TO.

>> SINCE YOUR FIRST WORK, WHICH IS ANOTHER ANTHEM FOR I THINK BLACK WOMEN, IS THERE A POST SCRIPT TO THAT?

OR WAS IT ALL THE 20-SOMETHING BOOKS YOU WROTE AFTER THAT SHOWED THE PROGRESSION OF WHO BELL HOOKS AKA GLORIA JEAN WATKINS IS?

>> IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE THE LAST FEW YEARS SO MANY OF MY BOOKS HAVE BEEN ABOUT LOVE, BUT ONE OF THE BOOKS THAT YOU HAVE AFFIRMED, AND I APPRECIATE THAT, IS "SISTERS OF THE YAM," "SISTERS OF THE YAM" IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE FEW BOOKS THAT WAS WRITTEN DIRECTLY TO THE EXPERIENCE OF BLACK WOMEN, AND AS A CONSEQUENCE THAT OF IT GOT VERY FEW REVIEWS, BUT IT'S ONE OF MY BEST-SELLING BOOKS.

AND WHAT I THINK ABOUT IS PEOPLE WHO SAY, BELL IS SOFTENING.

SHE'S NOW WRITING ABOUT LOVE, BUT IF THEY CAME TO "SISTERS OF THE YAM" WHICH WAS REALLY ONE OF MY VERY EARLY BOOKS THEY WOULD SEE ALL OF THOSE ISSUES OF COMMUNITY AND LOVE AND COMPARE AND SELF-LOVE BEING TALKED.

>> RIGHT.

DO YOU WRITE ABOUT LOVE MORE NOW BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE ASPIRING FOR THE MOST?

>> WELL, I THINK THAT WHAT I TELL PEOPLE IS WHEN YOU GO AROUND THE NATION AND THE WORLD TALKING TO PEOPLE ABOUT DOMINATION, WHETHER IT'S RACISM, SEXISM, HOMOPHOBIA OR RELIGIOUS SUPPRESSION AND YOU ASK PEOPLE WHAT MOTIVATED TO YOU CHANGE IF THEY HAD SOME NEGATIVE POSITION, AND YOU CAN SEE IN THAT -- THEIR RESPONSES THAT OFTEN IT IS LOVE, LOVE AS COMMITMENT, CARE, COMMITMENT, KNOWLEDGE, RESPONSIBILITY, RESPECT AND TRUST THAT HAVE PUSHED PEOPLE TO MOVE FROM A POSITION.

I THINK WE SEE A TREMENDOUS LOVE OF OUR NATION AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

AND COLIN POWELL TALKING ABOUT WHY HE WOULD SUPPORT OBAMA.

I READ HIS COMMENTS OVER AND OVER.

>> RIGHT.

>> BECAUSE THEY'RE ABOUT QUALITIES OF BEING AND INTEGRITY AND HOW WE ARE IN THE WORLD.

AND THAT TO ME IS THE LINK BETWEEN WORKING TO END DOMINATION, WHICH MILLION KING SAW SO CLEARLY, AND TALKING ABOUT LOVE AND THE PRACTICE OF LOVE.

>> WHEN YOU TEACH STUDENTS, HAS THAT BECOME, THE LOVE OF TEACHING, HAS THAT TRUMPED WRITING?

>> WELL, ACTUALLY, TEACHING AND WRITING ARE FOR ME SO INTERTWINED, BUT I THINK NOTHING TAKES THE PLACE OF BEING IN THE PRESENCE OF TEACHING STUDENTS, HAVING PEOPLE GROW TOGETHER, THE MUTUAL EXCHANGE BETWEEN PROFESSOR AND STUDENT, WHICH IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM WRITING.

BUT I'M WRITING A NEW BOOK ON TEACHING, AND WHAT I DID WAS ASKED LOTS OF PEOPLE "WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT TEACHING?"

AND I WANT TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.

THAT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE.

>> ALL ABOUT LOVE.

WELL, WE THANK YOU SO MUCH, BELL HOOKS.

AND THE NEW BOOK IS CALLED "BELONGING, A CULTURE OF PLACE."

YOU GOT TO GET ONE.

THIS IS MINE.

YOU GOT TO GET YOUR OWN.

I'M SURE IT'S A GREAT BOOK AS ALL YOUR OTHERS HAVE BEEN, AND IT'S A PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU BACK HOME IN KENTUCKY.

>> CONNECTING.

>> CONNECTING.

WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CONNECTING WITH US ON "CONNECTIONS" AND WANT TO HAVE YOU BACK REAL SOON.

>> THANK YOU.

>> FOR THE NEXT BOOK.

THAT'S ALL FOR "CONNECTIONS" THIS TIME.

I'M RENEE SHAW.

THANK YOU FOR WATCHING, AND WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.