65 pages • 2 hours read
Killing Rage: Ending Racism
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Book Brief
288
Book • Nonfiction
1990s
1995
Adult
18+ years
Super Short Summary
Killing Rage: Ending Racism by bell hooks is a collection of essays examining how racism, sexism, and classism intersect, drawing on hooks's personal and professional experiences. She addresses issues such as overcoming systemic white supremacy, Black sexism and misogyny, class consciousness, and solidarity. Using historical context and contemporary analysis, hooks advocates for revolutionary feminist solidarity against intertwined oppressions. The book contains discussions of racially motivated hate crimes, sexual assault, and other forms of oppression based on race, gender, and class.
Informative
Emotional
Challenging
Dark
Contemplative
Reviews & Readership
3,066 ratings
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Mixed feelings
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Review Roundup
bell hooks' Killing Rage compellingly addresses systemic racism and its impact on everyday life, garnering praise for its unflinching honesty and insightful critique. Some reviewers find the tone intense, yet this contributes to the book's powerful urgency. A few criticize the lack of proposed solutions. Overall, it’s a thought-provoking exploration of racial tensions.
Who Should Read Killing Rage?
Readers passionate about social justice and keen on exploring intersectional issues of race and gender will appreciate bell hooks' Killing Rage. Comparable to Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow and Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider, this book resonates with those invested in dismantling systemic oppression and understanding Black feminist thought.
3,066 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison
An activist and fiction author whose works addressing terror and white supremacy are referenced by hooks to support essays on historical racism and Black trauma.
Alice Walker
Alice Walker
A fiction author and activist whose work in womanism supports hooks's discussions of intersectional feminism and critiques of historic feminist movements.
Malcolm X
Malcolm X
A civil rights leader noted for his advocacy for direct action and Black love, whose ideas of rage and separatism are examined by hooks in her exploration of Black excellence and patriarchal elements in Black movements.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
A civil rights leader whose anti-capitalist messages and depiction of the white moderate are cited by hooks to address ongoing racism and media treatment of race issues.
Paulo Freire
Paulo Freire
A Brazilian philosopher whose liberatory educational theories and transformative impact on hooks's understanding of oppression are acknowledged in her work.
Frantz Fanon
Frantz Fanon
An Afro-Caribbean philosopher whose theories of decolonization and depersonalization inform hooks's discussions on Black consciousness and trauma.
Cornel West
Cornel West
A philosopher and activist whose analysis of Black identity and critique of academic hierarchies align with hooks's calls for solidarity and structural change in academia.
288
Book • Nonfiction
1990s
1995
Adult
18+ years
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