We were lucky to catch up with Trelani Michelle recently and have shared our conversation below.

Trelani, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

In 2016, I learned about books called slave narratives. They were compilations of interviews by federal contractors who were assigned to former plantations to interview the formerly enslaved. They were mind blowing! I started questioning who was collecting our elders’ stories today and, at that time, I figured no one was. By December 2019, I’d interviewed 21 Black elders over the age of 80 about life in Savannah, Georgia between 1920-1970. I wrote a book with the stories I gathered; it’s called Krak Teet.

Of the 21 elders I interviewed, only two of them are still living.

I started traveling to do more interviews. I also started going to classrooms and afterschool programs to teach the children about the work I was doing, how important it is, and why they should also become story-gatherers. Through these stories, I began realizing how much more alike we are than different. So I started using the hashtag #WeAllCousins on all of my platforms to amplify these connections by getting folk to reminisce out loud.

(Krak Teet is a Gullah Geechee phrase which means “to speak.”)

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I graduated from the OG of HBCUs in Georgia, Savannah State University, with a Bachelor’s in Political Science. Changed my mind from practicing law to telling stories then graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with an MFA in Writing. In addition to being a storyteller, I became a solid storygatherer after an internship at the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center. Crowned Savannah’s Best Local Author in 2021, I published a catalog of Black Savannah’s biographies called Krak Teet. I also co-authored the New York Times bestselling cookbook, Gullah Geechee Home Cooking. I refer to my work as “Zora Neale Hurstoning” and teach the history that textbooks overlook using words that your English teacher would’ve drawn red lines through.

I’m most proud of people telling me that my work encouraged them to interview the elders in their lives. They won’t be here forever, we know that, but, even bigger, no two generations are alike. Things change so fast—culturally, linguistically, socially, politically, geographically, etc. So we should all be documenting the way things were and the way they are. Because history ain’t just fun facts; it’s a roadmap.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I’m really good at what I do, I lean into the ways that I’m different from those who do what I do, and I’m constantly looking for ways to grow. Since 2012, I’ve been a full-time copywriter and editor, working for myself. When I first started, I cast the biggest fishing net I could because I wanted to keep my head above water. That helped me to quickly reach my 10,000 hours, but it exhausted me and almost made me doubt if I wanted to continue down that path. Instead of quitting, I got more specific on what I’d write and edit and who I’d do it for. Life stories are my thing, so that’s what I specialize in. And talking to elders and artists is what lights me up, so that’s who I do it for. And I surround myself with these groups, constantly tuning into what they need and what they want. As a huge critic of code-switching, I’m really good at making sure that people still sound like themselves on paper while still coming across professionally.

How did you build your audience on social media?

The biggest game changer in my establishing my social media presence was picking 10 accounts that I really love and identifying what I love about each one of them. Some of those traits, for me, including: 1. Consistency
2. Having an attractive page that’s not too heavily branded
3. Having a healthy balance of entertaining and learning
4. Videos so that we can see/hear the page owner
5. Some transparency/authenticity/realness without over-sharing

I also schedule my posts. That helps with consistency. And I follow social media gurus for tips, but I don’t take their word as law. For instance, I refuse to constantly try to beat the algorithms. That’s exhausting. And once a year or so, I ask close friends and my followers too what they love about my page and how I can improve.

Contact Info:

• Website: KrakTeet.com
• Instagram: @Krakteet
• Facebook: Facebook.com/krakteet
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/trelanimichelle