Hi there! I am The Femme Historian and I go by V or VK (she/they) and welcome to The Femme Historian (formerly Dear Advocate). Please make sure to read the 'Boundaries' section of this post!
Before I tell you all about The Femme Historian, let me tell you a little bit about me! Before I could read or write, I was fascinated with words. I liked how words looked on paper, I typed on a keyboard that was connected to absolutely nothing... Writing became a way for me to express what I couldn’t vocalize. There is a quote from Ancestor Toni Morrison that explains this feeling well:
“The writing is — I’m free from pain. It’s where nobody tells me what to do; it’s where my imagination is fecund and I am really at my best. Nothing matters more in the world or in my body or anywhere when I’m writing.” -Toni Morrison
Fun Facts:
I am a Black queer lesbian from the South who is soon to have a B.A. in history with a minor in African and African American Studies, I am an Enneagram 4, (I don’t know what a wing is, but I think my wing is 5?), and INFJ (side eying MBTI)!
While I am passionate about advocating for social justice through the written word, I love works of fiction. I want to be an author, a screenplay writer, or maybe both! Who knows? Maybe even a singer/songwriter. I’m into Star Wars, Marvel, sometimes DC, lesser-known mythologies (namely African Diaspora mythologies), the Sims, and learning new things! I’m a jack of all trades trying to master a few.
What I Do:
I write, try to create open dialogue, facilitate informal discussions, and curate content about a myriad of topics including but not limited to anti-racism, colorism, (Black) history, Christianity, colonialism, colonization, capitalism, imperialism, womanism/feminism, mutual aid, racialization, environmental justice and more.
About The Femme Historian:
Between the years 2017-2020, I blogged regularly about my faith and other related topics. After the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd, I decided that I could no longer write about anti-racism merely on occasion. When I first started writing about anti-racism, I had no clue what I was doing, I just thought I was doing what I needed to do. I found that three words best summed up my work: Faith, Advocacy, History.
Dear Advocate was born out of my desire to encourage advocates & activists while seeking to inspire them to take action not only online, but offline.
I write for all people who desire to be the change they want to see in this world.
My Boundaries:
This section is incredibly important as it defines how I expect people interested in my work to engage with me and my content. I understand that not all people can afford to subscribe so I want to make my content accessible. However, I do free work on my own terms, it is never owed to anyone. I don't respond to demands for free labor. As a Black creator, it is often expected of me to do free labor and I refuse to give in to those demands. The Femme Historian is not a safe space for bigotry of any kind. All are free to learn here but my liberation work does not and will never center whiteness or any other oppressive identity or belief. Any form of harassment, bullying, hate speech, and tone-policing will not be tolerated. I am a person, not Google or any other search engine. If you have a question that you can find a sufficient answer to through your own research or through the use of a search engine, please do that before reaching out to me. I am not an on-demand ask-a-Black-friend service.
Make sure "The Femme Historian" is clearly credited when sharing my work and citing me.
All business and professional inquiries should be sent to my email address with an appropriate subject-line. My email address is [email protected]
If you can't or don't want to support me on a monthly basis, you can make a one-time tip either via my Ko‑fi page or Venmo, PayPal, or Cashapp
I am an affiliate with the popular Black-owned bookstore Mahogany Books. My affiliate referral link is: https://www.mahoganybooks.com?afmc=be
I believe it's important to support small businesses, Black-owned businesses, and other minority/marginalized businesses especially when buying books regarding Blackness and other social issues. Of course, buy from where is most accessible and sustainable to you, but if you can, buy from these kinds of places. When you use my affiliate link, I will earn a small commission.
I am also an affiliate with Bookshop. You can browse my Bookshop store here.
So, that's me! I’m a Black creative and a bit of a jack of all trades. I like to dabble in this and that. Aspiring author, Pan-African, particular foodie, reader, freedom-thinker, dreamer, singer, who's into a lot of stuff, learning, and trying new things!
I'm glad you're here! Aṣẹ.
In love and solidarity, KV.