In the Harvard Educational Review article critiquing Bell Hooks’ book Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, Pepi Leistyna gives an in-depth look into the book and the social issues that Hooks brings to light. We currently live in a society that is divided into racial sects. In her book, Hooks argues that we should be taught to embrace cultural diversity rather than being told to assimilate into American Culture. However, people who confront authority and try to change the social norms are labeled as anti- American. Hooks’ feels that it is up to the educators of society to steer it in a positive direction. She stresses the importance of education and the effect it has on the way we perceive each other. This, in turn,…show more content… These false stereotypes that we grow accustomed to hearing eventually engrave themselves in our minds and we begin to see ourselves as different than humans of a different ethnicity. We buy into the idea that we are somehow different than our peers simply due to the fact that our ancestors originated from different parts of this planet. This paves the way for racism and is the cause of many social injustices we see in society. Many people would argue that the resulting oppression and mistreatment has led to the regression of society. Leistyna uses Blacks and Latinos as an example. When we assume that violence is the cause of social demise, we begin to believe that certain people are responsible. From there, we develop stereotypes that increase the rift between races. This way of thinking has resulted in the stereotype that Blacks and Latinos have violent tendencies. The millions of people of African or Hispanic descent are thought to be violent by their very nature. When these sorts of widely accepted stereotypes emerge, we grow accustom to the oppression that people face and become desensitized to it. Leistyna begins his article with a quote from the infamous Adolf Hitler that