The Mountain Association stands in solidarity with those protesting police violence against people of color, and with communities of color who face the violence of systemic oppression every day. Please read our full statement issued June 3, 2020 here.
As a predominantly white organization serving a predominantly white region, we do not take it upon ourselves to speak for communities of color. Their voices are strong and clear and we support them. We recognize an obligation as white people to speak to other white people, because it is our responsibility to address racism, white privilege and white supremacy.
Our staff have found the following resources helpful as we have worked over the past year to learn about race and ongoing inequities in our region and beyond. We also urge you to learn more directly from Black-led and Black-focused organizations. The following organizations who have been supporting justice work in our region for years: Appalshop, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Highlander Center, the STAY Project (which, as of February, includes Black Appalachian Young & Rising), and Southerners On New Ground. The resources available through Showing Up for Racial Justice are also invaluable.
Short Reads:
- I Pledge Allegiance to Affrilachia, 100 Days in Appalachia, March 2019 https://www.100daysinappalachia.com/2019/03/08/i-pledge-allegiance-to-affrilachia/
- ‘They Will Remember Us’: The Miners of Black Harlan, The New York Review of Books, April 2019 https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/05/03/they-will-remember-us-the-miners-of-black-harlan/
- Kentuckians Work Toward Racial Equity, MACED, March 2020 https://mtassociation.org/community-development/winchester-ky-racial-equity/
- Appalachia’s New Day: Black Appalachian Young & Rising, MACED, December 2019 https://mtassociation.org/appalachias-new-day/black-appalachian-youth/
Listen:
- Podcast: A Racial Cleansing in America, Scene on Radio: Seeing White, May 2017 http://www.sceneonradio.org/episode-39-a-racial-cleansing-in-america-seeing-white-part-9/
- Kentucky Town Re-Examines Its Racial History, NPR, March 2007 https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7772527
Watch:
- East Kentucky Social Club Documentary, Black in Appalachia, 2020 https://www.blackinappalachia.org/eksc#
Books:
- “So You Want to Talk About Race?” by Ijeoma Oluo, 2018 http://www.ijeomaoluo.com/
- All books by Affrilachian authors. We recommend starting with the following titles:
- bell hooks: “Ain’t I A Woman”, “Belonging”, and “Appalachian Elegy” http://www.bellhooksinstitute.com/
- Crystal Wilkinson: “Birds of Opulence” and “Blackberries, Blackberries” https://www.crystalewilkinson.net/
- Frank X. Walker: “Affrilachia” and “About Flight” https://www.frankxwalker.com/
