The radical southern belle

Black. Southern. Strategic. Unapologetically so.

The Radical Southern Belle is a storytelling studio and strategy house rooted in cultural memory, Black Southern tradition, and unapologetic Black womanhood. We equip leaders, dreamers, and daughters of the South with the tools to organize, reclaim, and rise, without leaving their roots behind. Every word, every offering, honors the legacy of our ancestors, whose strength, sacrifice, and spirit still guide our steps.

A Reclamation in Real Time.
Honoring the ones who came before while building what comes next.

The Radical Southern Belle isn’t just a name. It’s a reclamation. A refusal to let the South's beauty be buried under its brutality. This platform honors the stories, strategies, and spirit of the Black women who came before us and helps the ones rising now do it with power, clarity, and care.

Meet the Belle

Reclaiming the South, One Story at a Time.

My name is Kratina, and I come from a long line of builders, believers, and Black Southern women who made a way.My fourth great-grandmother, Phyllis Biggs of the Congo, was kidnapped, sold five times between Virginia and Georgia, and eventually brought to Box Springs, Georgia, where she bore three children by her Irish enslaver. She was silenced for survival, yet she prayed, quilted, and built community in whispers. I carry her grief, her faith, and her resilience in my bones.And my beloved grandparents, Leroy and Naomi Missouri Baker, were rural Arkansas organizers who showed me what it means to move with purpose, to care for your people, and to fight for something bigger than yourself. Their names still guide my steps.My maternal grandmother, Ida, was a woman born in 1920- a time and place that refused to see the full measure of her power. Like so many women of her generation, she lived under the weight of “you can’t” and “you better not.” But she was strong. She endured. And she made sure I would have more room to breathe.So no, The Radical Southern Belle is not just a consulting platform. It’s a political and spiritual offering. I offer companionship for the road ahead-whether you’re building political power in a rural county, dreaming up a healing-centered nonprofit, or just trying to root your work in something deeper than deliverables.I believe cultural memory is a map.
I believe healing is not a side dish…it’s the main course. And I believe that even in the places that have done us harm, we can build something free.This work is Southern.
This work is sacred.
And I’d be honored to walk with you.

Kratina N. Baker
The Radical Southern Belle

Work With Me

From strategy and storytelling to movement-building and memory work-Radical Southern Belle partners with organizations, coalitions, and leaders to build systems rooted in clarity, culture, and care.

Consulting+Strategy

Bold ideas. Measurable impact.
We help nonprofits, coalitions, and campaigns clarify their vision, organize their work, and implement strategies with soul.

Trainings+Frameworks

Rooted curriculum for transformational change.
Signature tools like the Hot Grease Framework™ and custom trainings for staff, students, or community members.

Facilitation+Workshops

Space-making for collective clarity.
Custom-designed gatherings that blend strategic insight, emotional truth-telling, and cultural grounding.

Speaking+Storytelling

Bring the South to the stage.
From keynotes to panels to porch-style storytelling, I speak truth with grace, grit, and a whole lot of history.

This Is How We Build

Strategy Rooted in Story & Soil

I believe strategy should feel like home, not a hustle. I support folks who are doing sacred, justice-rooted work and want help making it more sustainable. Whether it’s clarity, structure, or direction you’re after, I’ll walk with you to make a plan that honors your story, your community, and the soil you’re growing from.You don’t have to do it alone.

Storytelling is the Strategy. Media is the Movement.

The Radical Southern Belle isn’t just a brand. It’s a living archive of Black Southern brilliance-past, present, and still becoming.Here, storytelling isn’t ornamental.
It’s organizing.
It’s resistance.
It’s remembrance.From front porches to pulpits, protest chants to praise breaks, Black Southern folks have always been the keepers of complex, creative, and communal memory.The Radical Southern Belle takes that lineage seriously and joyfully.
Through multimedia content, podcasts, newsletters, visual storytelling, oral history, digital organizing, and culturally-rooted trainings, this platform amplifies:

  • Legacy Keepers: community elders, rural organizers, and unsung heroes whose stories rarely get center stage

  • Critical Conversations: interviews, panels, and solo episodes that break down policy, place, and personal power

  • Cultural Memory: rituals, recipes, sayings, and songs passed down through generations

  • Freedom-Rooted Tools: from organizing templates to reflection prompts, we fuse tradition with strategy

The Written Word

Essays, newsletters, and cultural memory reflections.

  • The Magnolia Newsletter

  • Southern organizing tools & strategy templates

  • Community-rooted archives (coming soon)

  • Cultural memory guides & learning resources (coming soon)

The Spoken Word

Conversations, oral histories, and rhythm-rich storytelling.

  • The Gathering Table Podcast

  • Guest interviews & narrative series

  • Live conversations and public dialogues rooted in healing, justice, and cultural memory

  • Voice as archive: preserving the sounds of our people, our politics, our prayers

COMING SOON...

The Gathering Table Of The Radical Southern Belle Podcast: Where stories simmer, truth rises, and Southern strategy gets served hot.

The Gathering Table is a podcast rooted in legacy, love, and liberation. Hosted by Kratina Baker, J.D., this forthcoming show will bring together Black Southern women and kinfolk to share truth-telling conversations on healing, cultural memory, organizing, and building power in the rural South.This isn’t just a podcast, it’s a sanctuary for the stories we’ve inherited, the ones we’re still writing, and the ones that will outlive us.Pull up a chair. The first episode drops soon.Subscribe to stay in the loop.Want to be a guest or share an idea? Contact us below.

Let’s Stay in Touch

Whether you're reaching out about a training, media collaboration, consulting request, or you just want to say hey, I’d love to hear from you. Fill out the form below and I’ll be in touch soon. If you’re reaching out about press or speaking, let me know in the message.

Thank you

Thank you for stopping by The Radical Southern Belle.This space was built with intention- for legacy, for memory, and for the work ahead.Whether you came here out of curiosity or conviction, I hope you found something that stirred your spirit.Stay rooted. Stay ready. Stay radiant.