Affrilachia
Affrilachia is a term that spotlights the historic and current 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.
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.Members
More than thirty prominent writers identify as Affrilachian including: Frank X Walker, Nikky Finney, Kelly Norman, Ellis, Mitchell L. H. Douglas, Crystal Wilkinson, Bianca Spriggs, Parneshia Jones, and Ellen Hagan. Over 2,000 people belong to the Affrilachian Artist Project's Facebook page.
