Gwenda Motley likes to point out that her older sister, Gloria Jean Watkins, was born and raised in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
Now, the author, feminist and intellectual better known as “bell hooks” will forever be painted and praised in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
Saturday morning, locals and dignitaries alike gathered along the open brick wall of the Christian County Historical Society, to celebrate a completed 10-by-10 mural of hooks — who died last December at the age of 69.
A stunning fixture for downtown Hopkinsville, the diligent effort came from Christian County High School’s resident artist and teacher Paula Gieseke, who — perhaps fittingly — also goes by a pen name of “Ms. G.”
The Watkins family had commissioned Gieseke for this specialized work, a first for her, and she said this was the kind of project that led to her students exploring the life of hooks.
Beginning this September, there will be local events focused on keeping hooks’ legacy alive and well.
Alissa Keller, director of the Museums of Historic Hopkinsville & Christian County, said that a “brunch with bell” will take place on September 24, and will focus on a meal and symposium surrounding hooks’ handiwork.
Already an exhibit resides in the Pennyrile Area Museum, preserving some of hooks’ personal collection.
Yvette Eastham, chief institutional advancement officer for Hopkinsville Community College and executive director of its foundation, noted that a 1:30 PM, September 28 luncheon at the Emerging Technologies Center will honor hooks’ 70th birthday — before a new hooks’ inspired feature is revealed at Roundtable Literary Park.
This mural, Eastham said, was just the beginning of honoring one of Hopkinsville’s best.
Mayor Wendell Lynch, who was one of many to attend high school with Watkins/hooks, said it’s fun to imagine the growth of someone that goes on to do great things in the world.
Fortunately for many in Christian County, they don’t have to wonder.
Motley said her sister had been feverishly working less than a month before her death, and had last paid a visit to Hopkinsville for a 2018 family reunion. She also gave considerable credit to Downtown Renaissance Director and CDS Assistant Director Holly Boggess for bringing the project to fruition.
William Turner and Ben Wood own the building and its facade, and both gave bidding to the cause.
The mural is an exact replica of hooks’ headshot for her first acclaimed work: “Ain’t I A Woman?” Black Women and Feminism, published in 1981.
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