The Word That Changed Appalachia Forever
Poet Frank X Walker’s creation of the word “Affrilachia” sparked a movement that for three decades has celebrated Black Appalachian culture, challenged long-held stereotypes, and staked out common ground for mountain folks.
Thirty-five years ago, when the renowned Kentucky poet Frank X Walker was not yet renowned, he coined a word no one had ever before uttered: Affrilachia.
Most Americans think of Appalachia and conjure images of people who are poor, uneducated, and white. But when Walker coined that word, it challenged long-held stereotypes—and it opened the doors to celebrations of the rich cultural heritage of Black Appalachians.
In our latest Salvation South Deluxe podcast, we welcome y’all to Affrilachia—a world some of you are very familiar with, and others have never even heard of.
Even though I am Appalachian, born and raised, I never heard the word until a couple of decades after Walker created it. But it hit me like a bolt of lightning. It made me realize that the culture of the mountains connects us all, regardless of the color of our skin.
In this episode, you'll hear from Walker, the brilliant poet who created the word, and you’ll hear him read from his first collection of poetry from twenty-five years ago, whose title was Affrilachia. You'll also meet another Affrilachian, Marie T. Cochran, a visual artist founded the Affrilachia Artists Project to celebrate the extraordinary artistic traditions of Black mountain folks.
Grab your headphones and settle in for a journey into Affrilachia. I promise you'll come away with a new perspective on what it means to be Appalachian, and maybe even a deeper understanding of our shared Southern heritage.
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Chuck Reece is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Salvation South, the weekly web magazine you're reading right now. He was the founding editor of The Bitter Southerner. He grew up in the north Georgia mountains in a little town called Ellijay.