I was at a friend’s place reading through some of the wealth of materials that he has amassed for the Catalyst Centre Library when I stumbled across an article by bell hooks reflecting on the influence Paulo Freire. In it, she talks of the impact her encounter with Freire had on her life as a young academic and black feminist. I wept reading the article. It was honest and truthful – particularily in recounting how transformative it is to engage with someone who welcomes criticism of one’s works and one’s flaws. hooks had been initially excluded from an address Freire was making as the powers that be thought she would be too confrontative about the inherent sexism in Freire language in his works. Freire did not back away from her questions, rather he embraced them.

The tone of her voice as she discussed how her relationship with Freire and his works impacted her own work was delicious. It reminded me of how I felt to be learning about feminism as a young woman – and in particular it reminded me of two guest lecturers I had the pleasure of studying with: Nourbese Philip and Lee Maracle. Both of these women pushed me beyond my own comfort zone and demanded that I pushed hard to learn complex thoughts and critically analysize how I was in the world. I still carry them with me today and remember them often when I find myself yearning and striving for my place in this complex world. I still want to do great things. I still want to read great pieces. I still want to sit in a room filled with people hungry for the same kind of change and expectant of the success we will feel when we get there.

I want to be challenged to always remember that any process I am a part of comes with the responsibility of ensuring there is protected space for dissenting views, critical thought, and action. I want to know if you will ask me provocative questions about whether I am walking the walk or just talking the talk.

(The article I am referring to is called “bell hooks speaking about Paulo Freire – the man, his work”, 1993. In Paulo Freire: A Critical Encounter (McLaren, Peter & Peter Leonard, eds.) New York: Routledge pp 146-154. She later included these thoughts in a book called Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black.)