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In the segregated South those black and white folks who struggled together
for racial justice (many of whom grounded their actions not in radical politics
but in religious conviction) were bound by a shared belief
in the transformative power of love. Understanding that love was the antithesis
of the will to dominate and subjugate, we allowed that longing to know love,
to love one another, to radicalize us politically.
That love was not sentimental. It did not blind us to the reality
that racism was deeply systemic and that only by realizing
that love in concrete political actions that might involve sacrifice,
even the surrender of one’s life,
would white supremacy be fundamentally challenged.
We knew the sweetness of beloved community.

—Bell Hooks [Killing Rage, p.265]

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