Life in the Holla
Document Type
Panel Presentation
Keywords
Appalachia, Race
Biography
Jaelin is a student at Marshall University and a native to Southern West Virginia.
Major
Anthropology
Advisor for this project
Dr. Riner
Abstract
I have noticed that in the grand scheme of American identity, Appalachia tends to be a bit of an afterthought. Because of this much of its cultural identity has yet to be explored. As an Appalachian native I learned very quickly that most people’s idea of the area focused solely on its white population. This project seeks to remedy this by studying a small Black community in southern West Virginia. Writers like Edward Cabell have done this before but much of these works discuss the lives of Black Appalachians during the twentieth century. However, much like Karida Brown's Gone Home, the focus of this project is on how these communities are today through ethnography and by way of semi-structured interviews and observations. The history of these individuals’ presence in the area as well as their experiences there have been chronicled and will be used to explore a current understanding of being Black in Appalachia.
Life in the Holla
I have noticed that in the grand scheme of American identity, Appalachia tends to be a bit of an afterthought. Because of this much of its cultural identity has yet to be explored. As an Appalachian native I learned very quickly that most people’s idea of the area focused solely on its white population. This project seeks to remedy this by studying a small Black community in southern West Virginia. Writers like Edward Cabell have done this before but much of these works discuss the lives of Black Appalachians during the twentieth century. However, much like Karida Brown's Gone Home, the focus of this project is on how these communities are today through ethnography and by way of semi-structured interviews and observations. The history of these individuals’ presence in the area as well as their experiences there have been chronicled and will be used to explore a current understanding of being Black in Appalachia.
