Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
HIstory and Memory in Southern Appalchia: Recovering Narratives of Community Engagement
Session Abstract or Summary
The purpose of this panel is to broaden the contours of southern Appalachian History through the examination of overlooked narratives in Appalachian history. Trey Adcock discusses the role of a Bureau of Indian Affairs school in the Cherokee community of Tuti Yi during the Jim Crow era with his paper entitled “ᏚᏗᏱᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ ᎤᏂᏃᎮᎸᏅᎢ: Stories from the Snowbird Day School (1935-965)”. Co-panelist Sarah Judson, with her paper, “From a Walkout to a Riot: Black Students and Black Power in 1969,” explores the role of black students in challenging the racial dynamics of Asheville in 1969. Both papers examine the role of educational institutions in challenging or sustaining community identities. The Snowbird Day School was a day school built for Tuti Yi students by the Bureau of Indian Affairs during a time of intense reform led by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, John Collier. The school was a site of assimilation, resistance and also a gathering place for the community to renew and strengthen bonds before it closed as a result of federal desegregation efforts in 1965. In 1969 Asheville, black students entered a previously whites only high school and faced racism, neglect, and discrimination. Their organized response was seen by school and city authorities as a violent threat to the stability of the city. Both papers address identity formation and the agency of marginalized people in this region, demonstrating ways in which institutions could both provide a source of support and source of contestation.
Presentation #1 Title
“From a Walkout to a Riot: Black Students and Black Power in 1969.”
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
On September 29th, 1969, a confrontation took place at Asheville High School between some black students, the Asheville police, and high school officials. The high school had recently desegregated and the transition was not smooth. Black students staged a walkout to protest mis-treatment and lack of access to the same resources enjoyed by white students. The walkout quickly escalated when police acted with force. Over the course of several days, the disturbance spread around the city as black youth and community organizers expressed their frustrations and anger at the lack of social change in Asheville. In this southern Appalachian city, the black freedom struggle was most visible among high school students. The students who participated in the Asheville walkout represented a new direction in youth activism. In the mid to late 1960s black protestors moved past demanding equal access to demanding respect, self-determination, and some element of community control over the institutions that dominated their lives. In Asheville, and led by students on the ground, black power took the form of community based political action that challenged the racial status quo.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Dr. Sarah Judson is Associate Professor of History at UNC Asheville. She earned her PhD in History from New York University. Her current scholarship looks at intersecting issues of race, class and gender in the era of the black freedom struggle and urban renewal in Asheville, NC. Of particular interest, is the influence of black power discourses on local Great Society initiatives for African American rights and representation. Dr. Judson teaches classes in US Women’s History, African American History, Oral History, Urban History and Southern History.
Presentation #2 Title
“ᏚᏗᏱᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ ᎤᏂᏃᎮᎸᏅᎢ: Stories from the Snowbird Day School (1935-965)”
Presentation #2 Abstract or Summary
The Snowbird Day School was a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) school, located in the Tuti Yi Cherokee community. Tuti yi is located on a non-contiguous parcel fifty miles away from the 56,000 acre-Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, NC.. Generally considered the most isolated of the Cherokee communities, Tuti Yi is boxed in by the Snowbird, Unicoi, Yellow, and Cheoah Mountains of Graham County, NC. Comprised of about 700 residents, Tuti yi possesses almost one-third of the remaining EBCI fluent speakers, including two tribally honored “Beloved Women.”
This paper will trace attempts after the “Removal Era” to bring formalized, education for Tuti yi youth beginning with the Quakers in the mid-19th century. By the early 20th century the school was administered by the federal government, first under the Department of War, and later the BIA. As with most federally run schools for Native students, the ultimate goal was to assimilate Indian students into the dominant culture. While in operation, the Snowbird Day School served approximately 550 students, 95% being fluent Cherokee speakers, before closing in 1965 under the banner of desegregation. Using an ongoing community-based project to document the history of the Snowbird Day School, the presenter will share digitized photos, archival materials and oral histories to re-position Native people in the larger story of federal segregation and desegregation efforts in Southern Appalachia. This story is one of resistance, negotiation and an enduring commitment from the community to maintain its shared values and language for future generations.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Trey Adcock is an assistant professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and the director of American Indian & Indigenous Studies at the University of North Carolina Asheville. His research interests include American Indian education, Curriculum Studies, and Indigenous methodologies. He currently serves on the Advisory Council of the Center for Diversity Education and the Center for Native Health’s Executive Board.
“From a Walkout to a Riot: Black Students and Black Power in 1969.”
On September 29th, 1969, a confrontation took place at Asheville High School between some black students, the Asheville police, and high school officials. The high school had recently desegregated and the transition was not smooth. Black students staged a walkout to protest mis-treatment and lack of access to the same resources enjoyed by white students. The walkout quickly escalated when police acted with force. Over the course of several days, the disturbance spread around the city as black youth and community organizers expressed their frustrations and anger at the lack of social change in Asheville. In this southern Appalachian city, the black freedom struggle was most visible among high school students. The students who participated in the Asheville walkout represented a new direction in youth activism. In the mid to late 1960s black protestors moved past demanding equal access to demanding respect, self-determination, and some element of community control over the institutions that dominated their lives. In Asheville, and led by students on the ground, black power took the form of community based political action that challenged the racial status quo.
