@koi.mood: When most people picture Appalachia they think of isolation, eerie folk tales, sweeping mountain ranges, and white people but they would be wrong. In fact the Appalachian mountain range was heavily populated by the Cherokee and other Indigenous nations until their violent displacement following the Indian Removal Act. Since then there has been an erasure of the many diverse cultures and communities that shape Appalachia, including the black community. But in 1991 the poet Frank X Walker put an end to this when he coined the term “Affrilachia”. Affrilachia refers to the robust, and often overlooked, Black heritage within the Appalachian region. Unlike it’s southern neighbors, Appalachia didn’t have sprawling plantations but that’s not to say African slave labor wasn’t used to maintain the much smaller farms that so many white settlers had at the time. There were also a number of free black families and “Melungeons”, a once pejorative term that has recently been reclaimed to refer to the free mixed race people of European, African, and Native American descent. With the rise of industrialism, there was an influx of black families looking to seek relief from the harsher Jim Crow laws of the Deep South and gain opportunities working on the railroads and coal mines, many times alongside European immigrants and white Appalachian settlers. From this emerged a distinctive culture shaped by white Appalachian traditions, Indigenous influences, and African American heritage. This blend of cultures is where we get things like the AAAE dialect (African American Appalachian English), the tradition of basket weaving, and the conversion of the West African instrument ngoni and its plucking style, into the banjo music that remains popular within the region today. The African American population in Appalachia has been on the decline since the early 1900s due to the decrease of the coal industry, but the impact of the Affrilachian and Indigenous people remains deeply rooted in the region. Today both communities still fight to keep their history within the region alive in the hopes that one day they can be recognized for the lasting impact they have had on Appalachia. Black culture isn’t a monolith. There are so many cultures and identities that make up black America. This BHM I wanted to learn more about the subgroups within Black America and the history behind them. Today is for the Affrilachian people. #blackhistorymonth #blackculture #soulaan #affrilachian #appalachia

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Monday 16 February 2026 23:31:28 GMT