Radical Love: A Revolutionary Force for Liberation

Figure 1: The Mothers (1923) by Käthe Kollwitz captures the grief and fear of mothers after World War I, as they shield their children from future conflict.

“Let me say, with the risk of appearing ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by strong feelings of love. It is impossible to think of an authentic revolutionary without this quality.” – Che Guevara in Venceremos–The Speeches and Writings of Che Guevara, edited by John Gerassi (New York, 1969), p. 398.

Defining Love

The concept of love seems to saturate every facet of our lives, yet its revolutionary potential is rarely interrogated. Our capitalistic, material-based, culture commodifies love – reducing it to superficial transactions, flowers, and commercial holidays. Advertisements for Valentine’s Day encourage consumers to liken expressions of love to material gifts: “You’ll Fall in Love With Our Prices, Put a Little Love in Your Cart, You Can’t Put a Price on Love … Or Can You?”[1] Iconic songs, like Madonna’s 1984 track “Material Girl” reduce love to something conditional – granted only to those with a higher economic status: “Cause the boy with the cold hard cash is always Mister Right.”[2]Commonphrases like “I love my car” or “I love this restaurant” demonstrate the way in which the casual overuse of the word strips love of any deeper, meaningful, significance. With this said, in a world rampant with divisiveness, systemic violence, and increasing inequality, the need for reclaiming love’s radical potential becomes essential.

Today, the United States is plagued with deep political polarization alongside an alarming increase in systemic marginalization. For instance, just look at the 100 + Venezuelans who were deported to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba – a supposed “legal black hole” for the Trump government – a military prison where, as described by one migrant, “you are dying little by little.”[3][4]  Moreover, the rise of shameful white nationalist rhetoric reflects a growing acceptance of a culture of dehumanization. In a study done by The Southern Poverty Law Center, the results point to a bewildering “50% surge in white supremacy hate groups in 2023” in the United States.[5]  Further intensifying these issues is the disturbing rhetoric from influential (and government-associated) figures who openly discuss empathy as a sort of cultural weakness. Take, for example, the Senior Advisor to the President of the United States (Elon Musk) who openly declared that empathy is “a fundamental weakness of Western civilization.”[6] These bizarre narratives dangerously legitimize a social climate where apathy and cruelty are normalized and even praised. More than just this, this type of language validates social indifference while discrediting any sort of ethical responsibility.

In response to these alarming realities, radical love surfaces as the necessary counterforce – a deliberate, justice-oriented, practice that unambiguously resists dehumanization. Radical love tasks individuals and their communities to reject passivity in the face of inequality; instead, it calls for empathy, harmony, and mutual respect to be the foundation upon which we build our lives. As Cornel West beautifully argues, “love is fundamentally a steadfast commitment to the [wellbeing] of the other, with that other being especially the most vulnerable.”[7] It is in our commitment to caring for the “other” that radical love becomes more than a moral ideal; it becomes a necessary daily practice. Such an exercise helps to build societies that uphold dignity by joining together in “collective opposition” to the harmful, anti-democratic apparatuses that currently place us “under siege.”[8]

Love in Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Paulo Freire, “freedom fighter” and author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, was a “revolutionary whose passion for justice and resistance was matched by his hatred of neoliberal capitalism and loathing for authoritarians of all political stripes.”[9] Identifying first and foremost as a teacher, Freire believed that education must be rooted in the effort to “constantly seek to improve and to develop certain qualities or virtues” (e.g., humbleness, tolerance, love).[10] Freire, as described by one self-proclaimed “disciple” Professor Ubiratan D’Ambrosio, was also a “great philosopher” whose legacy has inspired “new measures and proposals in education.”[11] At the heart of Freire’s teachings lies a radical reconceptualization of love – not as an intrinsically private reaction – but as a courageous, transformative force that is essential to any liberatory praxis. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire describes our role in resisting and tearing down repressive apparatuses through “love, humility, and faith.”[12]

Figure 2: Paulo Freire, 1963.By Unknown – Arquivo Nacional, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72855565

Paulo Freire, throughout his work, often positions love as a foundational principle of liberation. However, the kind of love he describes is not confined by the traditional romanticized notions that we all too often subscribe to. Freire, in his own words, explains that love should be “armed” – it should be a “fighting love of those convinced of the right and the duty to fight, to denounce, and to announce.”[13] In saying this, Freire argues that love is not simply a passing emotion or sentimental ideal; rather, it is a courageous and active commitment. Antonia Darder, a friend of Freire, furthers this, explaining that his “brand of love” was “lively, forceful, and inspiring, while at the same time, critical, challenging, and insistent.”[14]

In his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire’s pedagogy of love is explained through the “social, economic, and cultural reality of 1960s Latin America.”[15] Interestingly enough, the text was written while he lived in exile in Chile – a consequence of the 1964 military coup in Brazil.[16] Freire’s lived experiences, then, played a great role in shaping his belief that education and dialogue are some of the most important ways for one to reclaim their humanity. With this in mind, his Pedagogy of the Oppressed would be fragmentary if we did not talk about love. In fact, he writes that the “courage to love,” which “far from being accommodation to an unjust world, is rather the transformation of that world on behalf of the increasing liberation of humankind.”[17] In this way, love becomes more than a personal virtue to flaunt on Facebook or quietly long for in the pages of a private diary. Instead, it becomes a revolutionary force that is absolutely central to Freire’s vision of education, resistance, and the collective struggle for liberation.

Principal to Freire’s conceptualization of revolutionary love in Pedagogy of the Oppressed is its intrinsic connection to respect, care, and commitment to the other. In this way, he explains that, without love, any form of dialogue becomes hollow, manipulative, or oppressive.

“Dialogue cannot exist, however, in the absence of a profound love for the world and for people. The naming of the world, which is an act of creation and re-creation, is not possible if it is not infused with love. Love is at the same time the foundation of dialogue and dialogue itself.” [18]

Love, in this context, is not sentimental; it is a radical orientation towards justice and mutual growth. It is both the foundation of dialogue (what makes it possible) and the dialogue itself (how it unfolds when done properly). True dialogue, in this sense, requires one to enter a conversation with humility, with the intention to listen, understand, and change.

Freire, through both his work and his character, makes clear that love is not an abstract ideal or private feeling – it is truly the beating heart of any consequential struggle for justice. Radical love, when founded upon humbleness, care, and courageous commitment, becomes the force that breathes life into education, dialogue, and resistance. More than just this, Freire’s vision of love is more than a call to action. It is a method of rejecting dehumanization, not with apathy, but with a steadfast, justice-oriented love that refuses to kneel for injustice. In response to today’s ongoing political and social crises of inequality and oppression, Freire’s pedagogy offers not only a theoretical frame, but a moral imperative: to build our lives, our communities, and our futures upon the rock of radical love.

Love in Practice: All About Love

Few theorists have redefined the meaning of love as robustly and unapologetically as bell hooks. Born Gloria Jean Watkins in 1952 in segregated Hopkinsville, Kentucky, hooks was raised amid deep-seated racial tension, class struggles, and gender inequality that would go on to shape her life’s work.[19] Writing under her great-grandmother’s name – formatted in lowercase lettering to decentralize the self – hooks became one of the most important feminist scholars and public intellectuals of the 20^th/21^st centuries.[20] With over 30 books bridging feminism, pedagogy, spirituality, race, and media, hooks unswervingly asks readers to reimagine love as a radical, honourable, and spiritual act.[21] An educator at institutions like Stanford, Yale, and Berea College – where she founded the bell hooks Institute – she lived her teachings in word and deed.[22][23] Her work emphasizes a so-called, “engaged pedagogy,” a model rooted in mutual respect, healing, and transformation.[24] In her book, All About Love: New Visions hooks remarks that “there can be no love without justice,” making clear that love is integral to struggle.[25]

Figure 3: Young bell hooks, Newscom/KRT/Donna Dietrich, https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/sacrament-love-black-catholic-reflections-life-and-legacy-bell-hooks

In her revolutionary book All About Love: New Visions, hooks argues that “the word ‘love’ is most often defined as a noun, yet we would all love better if we used it as a verb.”[26] Love, for hooks, is not a passive emotion; instead, it is an active, collective, practice of justice, accountability, and care. Building on the work of Paulo Freire – whom she once claimed she encountered like “a person dying of thirst” – hooks believed that love must be the foundation of any liberatory praxis.[27] Echoing and expanding on Freire’s teachings, bell hooks elevated the concept of radical love, pushing it to new depths and broader horizons. “Awakening to love,” she wrote, “can happen only as we let go of our obsession with power and domination.”[28] The radical shift from domination to connection lies at the heart of hooks’ vision. In her teaching, love is only possible when one genuinely embraces justice, empathy, and care. In saying this, hooks rejects the notion that true, radical, love can be effectively expressed by advertisements, flowers, or chocolate. Instead, love is reframed as an active force of justice – intrinsically tied to resistance (against the apparatuses that seek to shape and exert control over our lives.).

To engage with hooks is to be called toward a profound and challenging love; a love that seeks truth, resists domination, and demands the dignity of every being. Given this, it’s no surprise that her philosophy of love emerges as an intertextual constant throughout her writing. For example, in Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics, she asks readers to “imagine living in a world where there is no domination, where females and males are not alike or even always equal, but where a vision of mutuality is the ethos shaping our interaction.” Love, in this vision, becomes the ethos of mutuality through which this community finds healing.

 In Chapter 12 of All About Love,hooks beautifully clarifies that love has the power to “heal,” but only when one truly believes that it “really has the power to change everything.”[29] In this way, healing can never be passive. Instead, it must be a love-filled, intentional choice that leads the soul toward harmony. As hooks writes, choosing healing through love brings the faith and peace the soul needs for revolution.[30] This healing may arise in a community with “like-minded souls” or in quiet communion with the divine.[31] Citing Saint Teresa of Avila, hooks reminds us that transformation need not always be loud: “There is no need to go to heaven [to] speak with one’s Eternal Father… All one need do is go into solitude and look at Him within oneself.”[32] Without a love ethic, hooks warns, communities fracture and remain vulnerable to division and systemic harm: “We are a nation… unable to embrace a love ethic… especially if doing so would mean supporting radical change.”[33] Radical love, for hooks, requires not only action but hope.

“No matter how hard or terrible our lot in life, to choose against lovelessness—to choose love—we can listen to the voices of hope that speak to us, that speak to our hearts—the voices of angels. When angels speak of love they tell us it is only by loving that we enter an earthly paradise. They tell us paradise is our home and love our true destiny.” [34]

This vision reframes love as more than resistance. Instead, it is outlined as a return to community, to hope, and to our innermost calling. Love, according to hooks, is both a radical choice and a spiritual home: the path by which we resist and the future that we must claim.

Radical Love in Times of Strife

To practice radical love today is not to indulge in superficial sentimentality. Instead, it is to stand firm on the rock of justice. It is to teach the language of survival. In an age contaminated by ever-increasing state violence, unconcealed ideological cleansing, alongside the weaponization of fear, radical love emerges as the essential lifeline. The recent abduction of Rümeysa Öztürk – a doctoral student disappeared off the street by masked agents in Somerville – and the alarming arrest of Mahmoud Khalil for speaking against genocide, indicate an increasing, malignant, growth in authoritarian tactics.[35][36][37] These are not unique events. They are part of a movement of “disappearance,” a far-reaching campaign to criminalize dissent, suppressing empathy and eradicating those who dare to speak up along the way.[38]

In an era of increasing moral apathy, love can no longer be confined to private whispers in the dark. Radical love must be public, political, and revolutionary. The eye of radical love cannot be blinded – it always sees clearly. It sees the migrant left rotting in Guantánamo Bay, the student labelled a “terrorist” for protesting genocide, and the prison system that swells whilst empathy is condemned as weakness.[39] Still, radical love counters with intense concern, steadfast courage, and revolutionary faith. A powerful illustration of radical love in practice can be found in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) – a story that, while established in Christian theology, speaks to a universal calling.

In response to a lawyer who asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?” – a question posed to subtly draw limits around who actually deserves love – he tells the story of a man who is beaten, mugged, and left to die on the side of the road.[40] Two religious leaders walk by, reluctant to involve themselves. [41] To the surprise of the lawyer, it is a member of the marginalized and scorned community, a Samaritan, who stops in his tracks to offer help. [42][43] The Samaritan tends to the man’s injuries, transporting him to safety and covering the expenses of his care. [44] The message in this parable is unambiguous: love is not intangible or speculative. Love is, at times, inconvenient, costly, and it may even require our undivided attention. Nonetheless, the Samaritan’s love stands as a daring challenge to the accusation that radical love isn’t worth sacrifice. This kind of radical love motivates us to cross socio-cultural, religious, and political borders in defence of another’s dignity.  

Right now, our world is crying out for a culture of radical love. When prisoners are detained indefinitely without trial, when marginalized communities are targeted, and when dissent is criminalized, we are called to act. Radical love demands our presence, protection, and a brave commitment to the wounded at the roadside of our world. The question, then, is will we turn away, telling ourselves it’s not our responsibility? Or will we stop in our tracks, confront the oppressors, and respond with the stubborn courage to refuse complicity? As explained powerfully by hooks and Freire, radical love is the purest form of resistance against the powers that seek to divide and destroy us. Radical love is the corridor leading to solidarity and the center of any struggle that dares to envision justice.

[1] Fontanella, Clint. “77 Valentines Day Marketing Slogans That Are Catchy & Creative.” Thryv, 15 Jan. 2025, www.thryv.com/blog/valentines-day-marketing-slogans/.

[2] Genius. “Madonna – Material Girl Lyrics.” Genius, genius.com/Madonna-material-girl-lyrics.  

[3] The Washington Post. “Relatives and Records Cast Doubt on Guantánamo Migrants Being ‘Worst of the Worst.’” The Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2025, www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/02/16/trump-guantanamo-migrants-deportations-venezuela/. 

[4] José Rodríguez qtd. in Hernández, Osmary, and Manuel Cobela. “Venezuelan Deported from US and Held in Guantanamo for 15 Days Says It Was ‘Hell.’” CNN, Cable News Network, 12 Mar. 2025, www.cnn.com/2025/03/12/americas/venezuela-guantanamo-detainee-deported-trump-intl-latam/index.html.  

[5] Murra, Ashley. “White Nationalist, Anti-LGBTQ Activity on the Rise, Annual Hate Report Shows.” Missouri Independent, 5 June 2024, , missouriindependent.com/2024/06/05/white-nationalist-anti-lgbtq-activity-on-the-rise-annual-hate-report-shows/.  

[6] Wolf, Zachary B. “Elon Musk Wants to Save Western Civilization from Empathy | CNN Politics.” CNN, Cable News Network, 5 Mar. 2025, www.cnn.com/2025/03/05/politics/elon-musk-rogan-interview-empathy-doge/index.html.

[7] West, Cornel, and Astra Taylor. “Cornel West on Truth (Part 2): An Excerpt from Examined Life: Excursions with Contemporary Thinkers.” Stop Smiling Magazine, https://stopsmilingonline.com/story_detail.php?id=1280

[8] Giroux, Henry qtd. in Balch, Erica. “Henry Giroux: ‘Collective Opposition Is No Longer an Option, It’s a Necessity.’” Brighter World, 13 Sept. 2017, brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/henry-giroux-collective-opposition-is-no-longer-an-option-its-a-necessity/. 

[9] Giroux, Henry. “Remembering Paulo Freire as a Freedom Fighter.” Counter Punch 24 (2021).

[10] Freire, Paulo. “Reading the world and reading the word: An interview with Paulo Freire.” Language arts 62.1 (1985): 15-21.

[11]Freire, Paulo, Ubiratan D’Ambrosio, and Maria Do Carmo Mendonça. “A conversation with Paulo Freire.” For the Learning of Mathematics 17.3 (1997): 7-10.

[12] Freire, Paulo, et al. Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 50th Anniversary Edition. Bloomsbury Academic, 2018. p. 75.

[13] Freire, P. (1998). Teachers as Cultural Workers: Letters to Those Who Dare to Teach. (Colorado: Westview), p.42.

[14] Darder, Antonia. “Teaching as an Act of Love: In Memory of Paulo Freire.” (1998).

[15] Garavan, Mark. “Paulo Freire’s pedagogy of the oppressed.” Mobilising classics. Manchester University Press, 2016. 123-139.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Freire, Paulo, et al. Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 50th Anniversary Edition. Bloomsbury Academic, 2018. p. 143.

[18]  Freire, Paulo, et al. Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 50th Anniversary Edition. Bloomsbury Academic, 2018. p. 73.

[19] Medea, Andra (1997). “hooks, bell (1952–)”. In Hine, Darlene Clark (ed.). Facts on File Encyclopedia of Black Women in America. New York: Facts on File. pp. 100–101.

[20] Williams, Heather (March 26, 2013). “Bell Hooks Speaks Up.” The Sandspur. p. 1.

[21] Knight, Lucy (December 15, 2021). “Bell Hooks, author and activist, dies aged 69.” The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021.

[22] “About the Bell Hooks institute”. Bell Hooks institute. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. archive.org

[23] Berea College. “Get to Know Bell Hooks.” Berea.edu, 2023, www.berea.edu/centers/the-bell-hooks-center/about-bell.

[24] hooks, bell (1994). Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York. ISBN 0-415-90807-8. Chapter 1.

[25] Hooks, Bell. All about Love: New Visions. New York, William Morrow, 2000. EPUB Version. p. 29.

[26] Hooks, Bell. All about Love: New Visions. New York, William Morrow, 2000. EPUB Version. p. 29.

[27] Specia, Akello, and Ahmed A. Osman. “Education as a Practice of Freedom: Reflections on bell hooks.” Journal of education and Practice 6.17 (2015): 195-199.

[28] Hooks, Bell. All about Love: New Visions. New York, William Morrow, 2000. EPUB Version. p. 67.

[29] Hooks, Bell. All about Love: New Visions. New York, William Morrow, 2000. EPUB Version. p. 138.

[30] Ibid. p. 143.

[31] Ibid. p. 142.

[32] Ibid.

[33] Ibid. p. 69.

[34] Ibid. p. 155

[35] Pazmino, Gloria, and Andy Rose. “What We Know about the Tufts University PhD Student Detained by Federal Agents.” CNN, 27 Mar. 2025, www.cnn.com/2025/03/27/us/rumeysa-ozturk-detained-what-we-know/index.html.

[36] McCausland, Phil. “Who Is Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian Activist Facing US Deportation?” BBC, 12 Mar. 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj5nlxz44yo.

[37] Giroux, Henry A. “Amid State Abductions, Trump’s Fascism Is No Longer Creeping — It’s Here.” Truthout, 5 Apr. 2025, https://truthout.org/articles/amid-state-abductions-trumps-fascism-is-no-longer-creeping-its-here/

[38] Evans, Brad, and Chantal Meza. State of Disappearance. McGill-Queen’s Press – MQUP, 15 Nov. 2023.

[39] Rose et al., “Trump Administration Accuses Pro-Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil of Hiding Info on His Green Card Application.” https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/24/us/mahmoud-khalil-green-card-trump-administration/index.html

[40] The Bible. New International Version. Luke 10:25-37.

[41] Ibid.

[42] Giles, Terry. “We Praise People as ‘Good Samaritans,’ but There’s a Complex History behind the Phrase.” The Conversation, 19 Aug. 2022, https://theconversation.com/we-praise-people-as-good-samaritans-but-theres-a-complex-history-behind-the-phrase-188036

[43] The Bible. New International Version. Luke 10:25-37.

[44] Ibid.

Works Cited

Balch, Erica. “Henry Giroux: ‘Collective Opposition Is No Longer an Option, It’s a Necessity.’” Brighter World, 13 Sept. 2017, https://brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/henry-giroux-collective-opposition-is-no-longer-an-option-its-a-necessity/

Berea College. “About the Bell Hooks Institute.” Bell Hooks Institute, archived 8 Jan. 2021, https://web.archive.org/web/20200716104332/http://www.bellhooksinstitute.com/aboutthebhi

Berea College. “Get to Know Bell Hooks.” Berea.edu, 2023, www.berea.edu/centers/the-bell-hooks-center/about-bell.

Darder, Antonia. “Teaching as an Act of Love: In Memory of Paulo Freire.” 1998. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED426154

Evans, Brad, and Chantal Meza. State of Disappearance. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 15 Nov. 2023.

Fontanella, Clint. “77 Valentines Day Marketing Slogans That Are Catchy & Creative.” Thryv, 15 Jan. 2025, www.thryv.com/blog/valentines-day-marketing-slogans/.

Freire, Paulo. Teachers as Cultural Workers: Letters to Those Who Dare to Teach. Westview, 1998.

Freire, Paulo. “Reading the World and Reading the Word: An Interview with Paulo Freire.” Language Arts, vol. 62, no. 1, 1985, pp. 15–21.

Freire, Paulo, et al. Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 50th Anniversary Edition. Bloomsbury Academic, 2018.

Freire, Paulo, Ubiratan D’Ambrosio, and Maria Do Carmo Mendonça. “A Conversation with Paulo Freire.” For the Learning of Mathematics, vol. 17, no. 3, 1997, pp. 7–10.

Garavan, Mark. “Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” Mobilising Classics, Manchester University Press, 2016, pp. 123–139.

Genius. “Madonna – Material Girl Lyrics.” Genius, genius.com/Madonna-material-girl-lyrics.

Giles, Terry. “We Praise People as ‘Good Samaritans,’ but There’s a Complex History behind the Phrase.” The Conversation, 19 Aug. 2022, https://theconversation.com/we-praise-people-as-good-samaritans-but-theres-a-complex-history-behind-the-phrase-188036.

Giroux, Henry. “Amid State Abductions, Trump’s Fascism Is No Longer Creeping — It’s Here.” Truthout, 5 Apr. 2025, https://truthout.org/articles/amid-state-abductions-trumps-fascism-is-no-longer-creeping-its-here/.

Giroux, Henry. “Remembering Paulo Freire as a Freedom Fighter.” CounterPunch, vol. 24, 2021.

Hernández, Osmary, and Manuel Cobela. “Venezuelan Deported from US and Held in Guantanamo for 15 Days Says It Was ‘Hell.’” CNN, 12 Mar. 2025, www.cnn.com/2025/03/12/americas/venezuela-guantanamo-detainee-deported-trump-intl-latam/index.html.

hooks, bell. All About Love: New Visions. William Morrow, 2000. EPUB version.

hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. Routledge, 1994.

Knight, Lucy. “Bell Hooks, Author and Activist, Dies Aged 69.” The Guardian, 15 Dec. 2021. Archived 15 Dec. 2021.

McCausland, Phil. “Who Is Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian Activist Facing US Deportation?” BBC, 12 Mar. 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj5nlxz44yo.

Medea, Andra. “hooks, bell (1952–).” Facts on File Encyclopedia of Black Women in America, edited by Darlene Clark Hine, Facts on File, 1997, pp. 100–101.

Murra, Ashley. “White Nationalist, Anti-LGBTQ Activity on the Rise, Annual Hate Report Shows.” Missouri Independent, 5 June 2024, https://missouriindependent.com/2024/06/05/white-nationalist-anti-lgbtq-activity-on-the-rise-annual-hate-report-shows/

Pazmino, Gloria, and Andy Rose. “What We Know about the Tufts University PhD Student Detained by Federal Agents.” CNN, 27 Mar. 2025, www.cnn.com/2025/03/27/us/rumeysa-ozturk-detained-what-we-know/index.html.

Rose, Andy, et al. “Trump Administration Accuses Pro-Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil of Hiding Info on His Green Card Application.” CNN, 24 Mar. 2025, www.cnn.com/2025/03/24/us/mahmoud-khalil-green-card-trump-administration/index.html.

Specia, Akello, and Ahmed A. Osman. “Education as a Practice of Freedom: Reflections on bell hooks.” Journal of Education and Practice, vol. 6, no. 17, 2015, pp. 195–199.

The Bible. New International Version. Luke 10:25–37.

The Washington Post. “Relatives and Records Cast Doubt on Guantánamo Migrants Being ‘Worst of the Worst.’” The Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2025, www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/02/16/trump-guantanamo-migrants-deportations-venezuela/.

Venceremos: The Speeches and Writings of Che Guevara. Edited by John Gerassi, New York, 1969, p. 398.

West, Cornel, and Astra Taylor. “Cornel West on Truth (Part 2): An Excerpt from Examined Life: Excursions with Contemporary Thinkers.” Stop Smiling Magazine, https://stopsmilingonline.com/story_detail.php?id=1280.

Williams, Heather. “Bell Hooks Speaks Up.” The Sandspur, 26 Mar. 2013, p. 1.

Wolf, Zachary B. “Elon Musk Wants to Save Western Civilization from Empathy.” CNN Politics, 5 Mar. 2025, www.cnn.com/2025/03/05/politics/elon-musk-rogan-interview-empathy-doge/index.html.

Figure List

Figure 1: The Mothers (1923) by Käthe Kollwitz captures the grief and fear of mothers after World War I, as they shield their children from future conflict.

Figure 2: Paulo Freire, 1963. By Unknown – Arquivo Nacional, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72855565

Figure 3: Young bell hooks, Newscom/KRT/Donna Dietrich, https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/sacrament-love-black-catholic-reflections-life-and-legacy-bell-hooks

Read more at By Alexis Andrade.