Black in Appalachia: Black Coal Miners and The Great Migration

Black in Appalachia

EpisodeSep 19, 202030m

Black in Appalachia: Black Coal Miners and The Great Migration

Black in Appalachia

EpisodeSep 19, 202030m

In this episode of Black in Appalachia, Enkeshi and Angela discuss The Great Migration and the role that Appalachian coal miners played in it. With the rise of coal industry, thousands of Black laborers were recruited from the deep South to the coal fields of Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. Black people, seeking living wages and to escape from racial terror settled in Appalachia coal towns before moving on to Northern cities like Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and New York a generation or two later.

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Having long been in this region, Black Appalachians remain mostly invisible, while the dominant narratives of Appalachia depict an overwhelming, white cultural homogeneity. The Black in Appalachia Podcast challenges these misconceptions by highlighting how Black families have shaped and have been shaped by the region. Through historical and contemporary stories of people, places and experiences, hosts Enkeshi El-Amin and Angela Dennis interrogate what it means to be Black in Appalachia, creating space where under-told stories can be heard and Black identity can be reclaimed.

www.blackinappalachia.org/podcast

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