The Iron Magnolia

Hey y’all,

I’m Kratina Baker, founder, visionary of The Radical Southern Belle and a cultural strategist rooted in the Black South.

I’m so proud to introduce The Iron Magnolia—a seasonal Black Southern journal about memory, meaning, and the stories that shape our lives.

In many ways, The Iron Magnolia is my ongoing love letter to the Black South—the place I call home.

This journal explores the Black Southern experience through essays, cultural memory, field notes, reflections, and stories that move between past and present.

It’s a place to examine how Black Southern life has shaped families, culture, identity, survival, and the country itself.

And it’s also a place to laugh, remember, reflect, and hold on to the everyday moments that make us who we are.

In the Inaugural Issue of the Iron Magnolia, You’ll Find:

• The Evolution of the Radical Southern Belle — a deeply personal reflection on my journey, the evolution of this work, and what it means to come into your voice over time

• Field Note (In the Lineage of Zora Neale Hurston) — inspired by the work of the legendary Black writer and folklorist who documented Southern life from within, this piece follows a solo road trip from Atlanta to Louisiana that leads to a thought-provoking visit to a gravesite in the backroads of Mississippi—raising questions about memory, legacy, and the stories we carry

• “Wanderlust: Sinners, the Delta, and Why It’s Time to See the South” — a cultural reflection on Sinners and a call to experience the South with new eyes—especially as the summer season invites us to get out, explore, and see what’s been right in front of us all along