“I am rebelling against being handed a career, like, “You’re the next this; you’re the next that.” I am not the next anything; I am the first me.” 

Dr. kYmberly Mieshia Dionn Keeton is a visionary Texas-based creative force—an award-winning writer, art librarian, Black scholar and theorist, cultural historian, and archivist. As founder of The Friends of ART | library deco, a digital African American research art library and repository, and principal consultant at The K Agency, she merges innovation, scholarship, and community. Keeton is also the founder and instructor of the independent course African American Community Archives Theory (AACAT-1870), currently leading its first cohort. Her interdisciplinary research explores African American community archives in Texas, cultural philanthropy, and the evolving role of Black Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (BGLAM). A Ph.D. graduate from the University of North Texas, she serves on numerous cultural boards and enjoys writing, reading, and time with her dog, Roxy Blue.