Stevona Elem-Rogers is a writer, educator, and cultural worker who tells the truth about Black women’s lives, with a love that wants us seen. Felt. Known. Named. 

Described as a “Toni Morrison–Gangsta Boo hybrid,” her distinct voice moves through writing, public dialogue, and cultural projects that center Black women’s brilliance, complexity, and the everyday acts that shape our survival and joy.

She is the creater of Black Women Are For Grown-Ups (BWAFGU), a nationally recognized campaign turned living archive, and launched the first Little Free Library in the U.S. dedicated entirely to books by Black women, with early support from literary icons Nikki Giovanni and Sonia Sanchez.

Her work has been featured in The New York Times with Cleo Wade, in i-D Magazine profiling Solange Knowles, and in in Essence, where her love letter, “Dear New Orleans” became the Festival’s 30th anniversary cover story. Her work has been recognized by institutions such as Saint Heron, the Amistad Research Center, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

A sought-after voice on Black women’s history, Southern culture, and the power of storytelling, Stevona has shared stages at major festivals, universities, and cultural spaces nationwide. Her work has been recognized by institutions such as Saint Heron, the Amistad Research Center, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

A founding visionary of non-profit Black Education for New Orleans (BE NOLA) and creator of the Harvard-recognized Black Is Brilliant platform, she builds projects that honor Black women’s lives and legacies, from literature and history to the everyday cultural work that shapes our communities.

And if you don’t know her from all that, you might remember the viral July 4th rant that put Anna Murray Douglass, in America’s memory, reminding the world: Black women are the blueprint. Period.