bell hooks's Legacy and Social Work: A Distillation of Her Key Ideas about Love and Some Implications for Social Work Practice.

This article focuses on the legacy of bell hooks, a prominent Black feminist cultural critic and writer, emphasizing her central thesis that love is essential to overcoming oppression rooted in white supremacy, capitalism, and patriarchy. It explores how hooks's concept of a "love ethic"—defined as a combination of care, respect, knowledge, and responsibility—can inform social work practice by fostering self-love, cultural responsiveness, and non-violent resistance to injustice. The article highlights specific love-informed practices such as the Australian Aboriginal concept of dadirri (deep listening) and narrative resistance as ways to challenge dominant oppressive narratives. While acknowledging the idealism in hooks's work, the article argues for the relevance and potential of her ideas to guide social workers in addressing systemic inequalities and promoting healing and justice.