Belonging: A Culture of Place

Agrarian heritage refers to the cultural, economic, and social traditions rooted in agricultural life, particularly those tied to small-scale farming, subsistence practices, and close relationships with the land. hooks frequently reflects on her own agrarian heritage, drawing from her grandparents’ example of self-reliance, sustainability, and deep spiritual connection to nature. This heritage stands in contrast to the consumerist, urban values that she associates with alienation from both place and community. Hooks treats agrarian heritage not as a nostalgic ideal but as a living tradition that can inform sustainable, community-centered futures. Her reclamation of this heritage—despite its historical entanglement with racism and economic exploitation—underscores her belief in the restorative power of reconnecting with land-based practices.

The Black Arts Movement was a cultural and political movement of the 1960s and 1970s that sought to promote artistic expression rooted in Black identity, political liberation, and community empowerment. In Belonging, hooks reflects on its influence on her early understanding of art and aesthetics, noting both its strengths and limitations. While she appreciates the movement’s role in affirming Black creativity and rejecting Eurocentric artistic standards, she also critiques its tendency toward prescriptive definitions of “authentic” Black art. Hooks argues that these rigid standards could stifle experimentation and exclude artists whose work did not conform to nationalist aesthetics.