It is gutting to hear of the demise of bell hooks. She was only 69, and even though she leaves behind an immense legacy, there’s no doubt she had so much more to say, write and preach. I heard the news from a friend and collaborator and it was difficult to swallow. Because literally every post on my Instagram feed currently hosts a tribute to her, I feel less alone in my grief.

It was through hooks’s theoretical work that I really understood what it means to be intersectional in one’s feminism, to be aware and to continually call out the myriad forces that collude to advance the oppression of the historically marginalised—white supremacy, capitalism, casteism and patriarchy. As a Black activist and feminist, hook’s writing has been pioneering in how it enhances and enables solidarities across feminisms. If you’ve ever heard her speak (I have only through video recordings available on YouTube) you see her eyes eternally beaming with kindness, even when she is asserting a boundary or being affirmative about a particular belief.