I was featured on Fare of the Free Child!

I recently had the honor of chatting with Akilah Richards of Radical Selfie and Fare of the Free Child podcast about my experiences with minimalism over the past five years. To give some backstory, I met Akilah, virtually, about 3 years ago via Instagram. I found her via Trelani Michelle's page and I really dug their work.

I was so inspired by them, I ended purchasing books from both of them: Women Who Ain't Afraid To Curse When Communicating With God and Radical Self-Expression Manifesto. Both books were integral to me understanding and accepting who I was authentically and reclaiming my spirit. So when Akilah contacted me about being a part of a black history series for her podcast, I was overjoyed and felt like I had arrived.

I felt validated in a sense because I deeply respect the work she does around self-expression, unschooling, and liberation. I love the fact that she is intentionally raising free children and that she and her family embrace alternative and radical living. 

I was kind of nervous heading into our chat because my introverted self is always a little anxious about these type of social encounters, but I didn't need to be because the vibe was automatic. I didn't understand before why I felt validated to participate, but it was made plain by Akilah during our discussion: we are peers in this liberation struggle. Even though we're approaching the struggle through different lenses, our end-game is the same for ourselves and our communities. 

Not only are we peers, but something else that I still haven't been able to put my finger on. I think for the first time in this digital creative journey, I felt seen and heard and safe. This is important for myself, black content creators, and black people in general. It is necessary for the people we engage with to foster this type of connection that empowers us to tell our stories. This is the aim we have for Black Minimalists as well: a space for our people to feel and be liberated through the telling of their stories.

I am grateful for the experience and I plan to collaborate with Akilah again in the future. Listen to the full episode below.