Black in Appalachia

This episode we explore the history and significance of racially charged place names in Appalachia. From Ann Miller Woodford in Far Western North Carolina, SW Virginia's Great Stone Face to poet Cecil Giscombe's reflection on the absurdity of "Negro Mountain" in Appalachian Pennsylvania, this discussion underscores the importance of addressing these place names and the work toward respectful historical narratives.

On this episode of the Black in Appalachia podcast, West Virginia University Sociology Major, Suraya Boggs, shares her experience of growing up in Appalachia as a second generation immigrant with a West Indian parent. She is particularly concerned with the codependent relationships between immigrant parents and American-born children. Boggs found many similarities among herself and other second generation peers and also compared their codependent familiar relationships to their more independent non-immigrant peers.

On this episode of Black in Appalachia we talk with Frank X Walker, Black Appalachian award winning author, coiner of the term “Affrilachian” and 1st Black Poet Laureate of Kentucky. Frank shared with us about his background and growing up in Danville, Kentucky, the origins of his career as a poet, the founding of the Affrilachian poets and some of his work and writing processes. 

Enkeshi and William sit down and talk with Cornel West about his run for President of the United States.

The Black in Appalachia Podcast was lucky enough to talk with 102 year old Clara Hughes from Oliver Springs, Tennessee. She has led an incredible life, so you can only imagine the amazing stories she has to share, such as, she was the first Black woman to sit on the Y-12 Union Board in Oak Ridge, outliving 2 husbands and carving out a career and life from the East Tennessee coalfields to a venue of cutting edge technology and science.

On this episode of Black in Appalachia, Enkeshi is joined by University of Tennessee Sociologists, Shaneda Destine and Michelle Brown to share about a project the three of them worked on around the topic of Black safety. Black safety is a term Enkeshi developed in her dissertation that was concerned with how in a violent anti-black racists society, Black people and Black communities provide a sense of safety not captured in mainstream carceral understandings of safety. Together they curated a set of scholars to write on the topic and interviewed activists about their understanding and practices of safety. The episode highlights their interview with Ash-lee Woodard Henderson, Chattanooga native and Co-Executive Director at Highlander Research and Education Center.

Curator Kreneshia Whiteside-McGhee talks about her installation Y’all Don’t Hear Me: The Black Appalachia. As part of the exhibit Kren sits down for a conversation with Nikki Giovanni.

Featured artists include Amanda Banks, Jabari Browne, Kamau Bostic, Kywaun Davenport, Laiza Fuhrmann, Nikki Giovanni, Genesis The Greykid, Vandorn Hinnant, Frederick Johnson, Ashley Jones, Mary Martin, Charlie Newton, Iantha Newton, Mikael Owunna, Travis Prince, Walter Reap, Justin Rocha, RaMell Ross, Jessica Scott-Felder, Larry Silver, Myke “Murda” Stallone, Moses Sumney, Raymond Thompson, Carrington Ware, Crystal Wilkinson and Coco Villa.

On this episode of Black in Appalachia, Enkeshi teams up with four educators of  West Virginia University's national writers project to bring you letters from the archives. The team went to the University's archive for a workshop on how to incorporate primary sources in developing new narratives of Appalachia. While in the archives they discovered a master clap-back king and had to tell his story. 

In this unreleased episode from March 2022 William talks with Daryle Lamont Jenkins of the One People’s Project to get an update on what’s happening in the white supremacy movement.

Enkeshi and Pumpkin talk with Pam Nixon about her advocacy work in Environmental Justice in Institute, West Virginia.

This was a live-recorded event that was part of the University of Tennessee's Black Ecologies Week, held as a partnership with UT Humanities Center initiative with Africana Studies, The Bottom, Black in Appalachia, East Tennessee PBS, UTK departments, and other community and university partners.