User:Stokesskye/Affrilachia

Affrilachia is a term that focuses on the cultural contributions of African American artists, writers, and musicians in the Appalachian region of the United States. The term "Affrilachia" is attributed to Kentucky-based writer Frank X Walker, who began using it in the 1990s as a way to negate the stereotype of Appalachian culture, which portrays Appalachians as predominantly white and living in small mountain communities. Walker is also the man who jump started Affrilachia, and could be said to have made this word global. The term Affrilachian stands for an African American who is a native or is a resides in the Appalachian region. Affrilachia is also the title of Walker's 2000 book of poetry, published by Old Cove Press.

Frank X Walker co-founded The Affrilachian Poets and in 2009, created The Affrilachian Journal of Arts and Culture. Frank X Walker is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, currently serves as an associate professor in the UK Department of English. Walker’s partnership with the University of Kentucky allowed him to also create and teach an educational program on African-American and Africana studies, which further contributed to and raised awareness of Affrilachian art, culture, and history. The word "Affrilachia" is included in the second edition of the Oxford American Dictionary.

In 2011, Marie T. Cochran created the Affrilachian Artist Project with the goal of building a sustainable collaborative network among the region’s artists and community organizers. Today the project has over 2,000 members and has organized several Affrilachian-themed art exhibitions.

Literature
Frank X Walker has made the books Issac Murphy: I Dedicate This Ride, which is a poem about Issac Murphy. He made the book Masked Man, Black pandemic and protest poems which he uses to insert a conscience into the tumultuous cacophony that is social media. He also made Black Box Poems in the year 2006, and Affrilachia Poems in the year 2000.

Crystal Wilkinson is the author of the books The Birds of Opulence (2016), Water Street (2011), Blackberries, Blackberries (2000), and Perfect Black that is expected to be published

Music
Very little people are aware of the impact Black Appalachians, or Affrilachians, have on changing this regions style of music. No music has been more influential in the Appalachian region than the music that is made surrounding the banjo. The banjo is considered and Appalachian icon when it comes to music. West African enslaved musicians had brought over many musical instruments including the banjo to the New World in August of 2021.