Affrilachia

Affrilachia is a term that spotlights the historic and current cultural contributions of African American artists, writers, and musicians in the Appalachian region of the United States.[1] The term "Affrilachia" is attributed to Kentucky-based writer Frank X Walker, who began using it in the 1990s as a way to negate the stereotype of Appalachian culture,[1][2] which portrays Appalachians as predominantly white and living in small mountain communities.[3]

In 2011 Marie T. Cochran created the Affrilachian Artist Project with the goal of building a sustainable collaborative network among the region’s artists and community organizers.[2] Today the project has over 2,000 members and has organized several Affrilachian-themed art exhibitions.

Members

More than thirty prominent writers identify as Affrilachian including: Frank X Walker, Nikky Finney, Kelly Norman, Ellis, Mitchell L. H. Douglas, Crystal Wilkinson, Bianca Spriggs, Parneshia Jones, and Ellen Hagan.[4] Over 3,000 people currently follow the Affrilachian Artist Project's Facebook page.[2]

References
  1. Stasio, Dana Terry, Frank. "Finding Affrilachia". www.wunc.org. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  2. "I Pledge Allegiance to Affrilachia". Rewire.News. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  3. "Naming Affrilachia: Toward Rhetorical Ecologies of Identity Performance in Appalachia | enculturation". enculturation.net. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  4. "Members". The Affrilachian Poets. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
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