Author: Frank X. WalkerPublisher: Old Cove Press
ISBN: 9780967542409
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 136
Book Description
Collects poems about the African American experience in such rural areas as the Appalachian region.
Affrilachia
Author: Frank X. WalkerPublisher: Old Cove Press
ISBN: 9780967542409
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 136
Book Description
Collects poems about the African American experience in such rural areas as the Appalachian region.
Affrilachia
Author: Chris Aluka BerryPublisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 1985900947
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 250
Book Description
"Affrilachia," a term first coined in 1991 by Kentucky poet Frank X Walker, refers to the cultural contributions of African Americans who live in Appalachia, a largely mountainous region stretching over thirteen states from Mississippi to New York. Although Black Americans have greatly influenced the popular culture landscape in this region, their stories, trials, and triumphs are often undocumented because Appalachia is perceived as wholly white. In this stunning visual history, photographer and curator Chris Aluka Berry gives voice to the broad spectrum of African Americans who have lived in the Appalachian region over the centuries. Berry, who spent six years in western North Carolina, northeast Georgia, and eastern Tennessee, immersed himself in the communities and lives of Black Appalachians to present the diversity and commonalities of the proud people in the region. His intimate and revealing photographs capture African Americans in various settings—churches, homes, revival services, family gatherings, and homegoing celebrations. Completing this comprehensive collection are powerful narratives from the people who inhabit these places, and contributions from Appalachian writers Kelly Elaine Navies and Maia A. Surdam, whose poignant and powerful poems and essays offer historical perspective and broaden the book's archival importance. The first book of its kind, Affrilachia: Testimonies is an inspired historical artifact that honors, represents, and celebrates the proud people of color whose history and existence has greatly contributed to the broad tapestry of Appalachia.
Black Bone
Author: Bianca Lynne SpriggsPublisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813175240
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 160
Book Description
The Appalachian region stretches from Mississippi to New York, encompassing rural areas as well as cities from Birmingham to Pittsburgh. Though Appalachia's people are as diverse as its terrain, few other regions in America are as burdened with stereotypes. Author Frank X Walker coined the term "Affrilachia" to give identity and voice to people of African descent from this region and to highlight Appalachia's multicultural identity. This act inspired a group of gifted artists, the Affrilachian Poets, to begin working together and using their writing to defy persistent stereotypes of Appalachia as a racially and culturally homogenized region. After years of growth, honors, and accomplishments, the group is acknowledging its silver anniversary with Black Bone. Edited by two newer members of the Affrilachian Poets, Bianca Lynne Spriggs and Jeremy Paden, Black Bone is a beautiful collection of both new and classic work and features submissions from Frank X Walker, Nikky Finney, Gerald Coleman, Crystal Wilkinson, Kelly Norman Ellis, and many others. This illuminating and powerful collection is a testament to a groundbreaking group and its enduring legacy.
A Is for Affrilachia
Author: Frank X WalkerPublisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813196388
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 65
Book Description
The people and places in Appalachia make it a rich, multifaceted, and diverse region. When author Frank X Walker first coined the phrase "Affrilachia," he wanted to ensure that the voices and accomplishments of African Americans in that region were recognized and exalted. A Is for Affrilachia not only brings awareness of notable African Americans from this region, but this inspired children's alphabet book is also an exuberant celebration of the people, physical spaces, and historical events that may not be as well-known in mainstream educational structures. Illustrated by acclaimed artist upfromsumdirt, every image exudes vibrancy, beauty, and whimsy as it depicts an alphabetized word alongside each corresponding letter. Featured are a range of musicians, artists, and activists, as well as mountain ranges, literary works, and coal mining implements. Famous names, such as playwright August Wilson, writer Nikki Giovanni, actor Chadwick Boseman, and singer Nina Simone are spotlighted, as well as lesser-known individuals, such as artist Romare Bearden and musician Amythyst Kiah. Particularly poignant are the letters representing the four girls—Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley—who were killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. Equipped with a glossary to engage discussion regarding the importance of the individuals and places represented, this children's book is a unique and engaging ABC primer that offers a rich display of regional, racial, and cultural heritage through word and image.
Affrilachian Tales
Author: Publisher: Parkhurst Brothers Publishers Incorporated
ISBN: 9781935166665
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Lyn Ford tells stories from her native culture, the African-American tradition of the Appalachian region. Her stories are derived from family, community, the oral tradition of her culture, and he own life experience. A professional storyteller, Ford tours the United States and Canada.
Blacks in Appalachia
Author: William H. TurnerPublisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813181526
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 465
Book Description
Although southern Appalachia is popularly seen as a purely white enclave, blacks have lived in the region from early times. Some hollows and coal camps are in fact almost exclusively black settlements. The selected readings in this new book offer the first comprehensive presentation of the black experience in Appalachia. Organized topically, the selections deal with the early history of blacks in the region, with studies of the black communities, with relations between blacks and whites, with blacks in coal mining, and with political issues. Also included are a section on oral accounts of black experiences and an analysis of black Appalachian demography. The contributors range from Carter Woodson and W. E. B. Du Bois to more recent scholars such as Theda Perdue and David A. Corbin. An introduction by the editors provides an overall context for the selections. Blacks in Appalachia focuses needed attention on a neglected area of Appalachian studies. It will be a valuable resource for students of Appalachia and of black history.
Buffalo Dance
Author: Frank X WalkerPublisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813196477
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 105
Book Description
When Frank X Walker's compelling collection of personal poems was first released in 2004, it told the story of the infamous Lewis and Clark expedition from the point of view of York, who was enslaved to Clark and became the first African American man to traverse the continent. The fictionalized poems in Buffalo Dance form a narrative of York's inner journey before, during, and after the expedition—a journey from slavery to freedom, from the plantation to the great Northwest, from servant to soul yearning to be free. In this expanded edition, Walker utilizes extensive historical research, interviews, transcribed oral histories from the Nez Perce Reservation, art, and empathy to breathe new life into an important but overlooked historical figure. Featuring a new historical essay, preface, and sixteen additional poems, this powerful work speaks to such themes as racism, the power of literacy, the inhumanity of slavery, and the crimes against Native Americans, while reawakening and reclaiming the lost "voice" of York.
Perfect Black
Author: Crystal WilkinsonPublisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813151333
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 105
Book Description
2022 NAACP Image Award Winner Crystal Wilkinson combines a deep love for her rural roots with a passion for language and storytelling in this compelling collection of poetry and prose about girlhood, racism, and political awakening, imbued with vivid imagery of growing up in Southern Appalachia. In Perfect Black, the acclaimed writer muses on such topics as motherhood, the politics of her Black body, lost fathers, mental illness, sexual abuse, and religion. It is a captivating conversation about life, love, loss, and pain, interwoven with striking illustrations by her long-time partner, Ronald W. Davis.
Mountain Sisters
Author: Helen M. LewisPublisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 081318858X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 433
Book Description
Monica Appleby and Helen Lewis reveal the largely untold story of women who stood up to the Church and joined Appalachians in their struggle for social justice. Their poignant story of how faith, compassion, and persistence overcame obstacles to progress in Appalachia is a fascinating example of how a collaborative and creative learning community fosters strong voices. Mountain Sisters is a prophetic first-person account of the history of American Catholicism, the war on poverty, and the influence of the turbulent 1960s on the cultural and religious communities of Appalachia. Founded in 1941, The Glenmary Sisters embraced a calling to serve rural Appalachian communities where few Catholics resided. The sisters, many of them seeking alternatives to the choices available to most women during this time, zealously pursued their duties but soon became frustrated with the rules and restrictions of the Church. Outmoded doctrine—even styles of dress—made it difficult for them to interact with the very people they hoped to help. In 1967, after many unsuccessful attempts to persuade the Church to ease its requirements, some seventy Sisters left the security of convent life. Over forty of these women formed a secular service group, FOCIS (Federation of Communities in Service). Mountain Sisters is their story.
Black Box
Author: Frank X. WalkerPublisher: Old Cove Press
ISBN: 9780967542416
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 156
Book Description
A collection of poems mostly about the African-American experience.