Welcome to the Weekend Baby BAY-BEH!! Hick-Hop?!? Yes.......Hick-Hop Hip Hop Meets The Hollow Some call the unusual blend of rural and urban music hillbilly hip-hop. Others call it hick-hop. The collaboration of banjos, fiddles and drums set to a beat that would leave a rapper out of breath was created to reach inmates from big cities who are in rural Appalachian … [Read more...] about Saturday Open Thread: African Americans and Appalachian History
Appalachia
Friday Open Thread: African Americans and Appalachian History
Good Morning and TGIF POU! Today we look at the history of higher education for African Americans in the coal lands of Appalachia. Berea College Graduating Class of 1901 Berea College is a liberal arts college in southern Kentucky. Today, students come from 46 states and 58 countries to attend the school, but it was founded in 1855 to service the residents of the … [Read more...] about Friday Open Thread: African Americans and Appalachian History
Thursday Open Thread: African Americans and Appalachian History
Good Morning POU! African Americans have been mining coal and fighting bosses for over 200 years. Slaves were working in coal mines around Richmond, Va. as early as 1760. During the Civil War, a thousand slaves dug coal for 22 companies in the “Richmond Basin.” Black miners were expected to load four or five tons of coal. Slaves able to fill this quota were fed … [Read more...] about Thursday Open Thread: African Americans and Appalachian History
Wednesday Open Thread: African Americans and Appalachian History
Happy Hump Day POU! As with just about every genre of music popular in the United States, it should come as no surprise that the bluegrass music of Appalachia, was created by African Americans. One of the most iconic symbols of Appalachian culture— the banjo— was brought to the region by African-American slaves in the 18th century. Black banjo players were performing in … [Read more...] about Wednesday Open Thread: African Americans and Appalachian History
Tuesday Open Thread: African Americans and Appalachian History
Good Morning POU! Today, let's talk about the Appalachian families that are racially referred to as Melungeons. Melungeon is a term traditionally applied to one of numerous "tri-racial isolate" groups of the Appalachia region of the southeastern United States. Historically, Melungeons were associated with the Cumberland Gap area of central Appalachia, which includes … [Read more...] about Tuesday Open Thread: African Americans and Appalachian History