Those of you know me know that there is nothing that saddens me more than watching someone I care about suffer, and unfortunately my partner's current place of employment is rapidly cementing itself as a place that is willing to profit from the suffering of black people from past and present. This fundraiser is meant to provide Sereia with an emergency fund so that they can safely quit their increasingly toxic job effective immediately.

Sereia is a historian and historical interpreter by trade. they graduated from William & Mary's History program, they've worked at one of the most prominent living history institutions in the modern era, and most recently they've spent the last few years unearthing the stories of the people who were enslaved at a planation right here in Virginia. Their research has attracted attention domestically and internationally: both local institutions and individual citizens from as far as Egypt have tuned in for their virtual lectures and webinars.

Frustratingly though, their efforts to tell the full stories of the people who were enslaved at their institution and Virginia at large have been consistently obstructed by their superiors. Any program that would have even the slightest possibility to generate controversy or disapproval among the older colonizers gets either watered down or shot down. That would be enraging enough, but the repeated microaggressions they face on a weekly basis just amplify the rage of being told that the history of white supremacy is too much to swallow for the people who benefit from its continued existence. It has gotten to the point where they may very well have to quit to preserve their mental health, and we need to make sure that they can do so without risk of being unemployed during a global pandemic.

If we can raise $6000 for Sereia, they can safely quit their job can devote all of their time to hunting for a new job over the next few months. Jobs in this field that are sustainable are not easy to come by, so we have to assume it will take at least a few months.

If we are able to raise $8,000, this will allow Sereia to secure replacements for the equipment that they will need to return to their job. This is important because Sereia will need a personal computer that is capable of running all of the software they use in the side hustles that will keep them afloat during this period.

If we can manage to raise the full $12,000 for Sereia, then they will be able to comfortably look into starting grad school in the fall! This is a huge deal, because the history and museum job market all but requires a Master's degree to get anything beyond entry level!

Please donate what you can and share as often as you are able! The goal is for them to be able to quit ASAP, so the faster we get to that first milestone the faster we are able to get them out of there. ❤