Black Appalachia

Race, Place, and Identity

Cicero M. Fain III, Sheena Harris Hayes, Wilburn Hayden Jr., William H. Turner

• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
• Year: 2026
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781985903999
• Subtopic: African American History
• Index: Social Sciences

Black Appalachia: Race, Place, and Identity is the long-awaited successor to Blacks in Appalachia (1985), the first modern anthology to examine the socioeconomic, cultural, and political experiences of Black Appalachians. Edited by Cicero M. Fain III, Sheena Harris Hayes, Wilburn Hayden Jr., and William H. Turner, Black Appalachia features more than twenty-five emerging and established scholars and creatives who challenge how we think about the region by finding new answers to persistent questions.

Covering topics such as migration, discrimination, the arts, and the links between memory and place, this book demonstrates that Appalachia's Black residents maintain a significant role in shaping the region. It documents a renaissance of ideas, music, poetry, photography, and food and uses innovative scholarship, perspectives, and fields of inquiry to acknowledge the challenges and complexities of the Black experience in Appalachia, both historically and within a contemporary framework that addresses new realities.

Black Appalachia expands on the still largely untold story of Black America, reframing legacy and history, highlighting marginalized communities, and celebrating their contributions.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface: Appalachian Studies from 1985 to Today
• Part I: Race and Place
• Part II: Migration and Memory
• Part III: Biography
• Part IV: Discrimination and Segregation
• Part V: Poetry, Photography, and Prose
• Acknowledgments and Permissions
• List of Contributors
• Index