Kentucky Muse meets the Affrilachian poets, an ensemble of African-American and minority writers from Appalachia and the South that challenges the notions of an all-white region and culture. “Coal Black Voices” airs Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET1 and Sunday, Feb. 10 at 10/9 p.m. CT on KET2.
“One of the things I’ve encountered traveling outside the state of Kentucky is having to defend the fact that people of color actually live here, and a lot of the work speaks to that specifically: that not only are we here, we’re here in a big way. We’re part of Kentucky’s history; we’re part of the landscape,” says Frank X Walker, one of the “Affrilachian” poets featured in the documentary.
Debunking the stereotype of Appalachia as a whites-only culture was one of the purposes behind the adoption of the term “Affrilachian” in 1991 by Walker and other African-American Kentucky poets. In “Coal Black Voices,” these writers offer intimate insights into life in Appalachia and the American South through poems, stories and images. Their works celebrate their rural roots while drawing upon traditions such as the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts movement and experiences of the African Diaspora.
Ten writers are featured in the program: Walker, Nikki Finney, Crystal Wilkinson, Kelly Norman Ellis, Ricardo Nazario-Colon, Paul C. Taylor, Bernard Clay, Mitchell L.H. Douglas, Daundra Scisney-Givens and Shanna Smith. They read works that are both personal and political, giving voice to the pleasures of such universal topics as land, family, food, community, art and transformation while encompassing themes of racism and black identity.
“Coal Black Voices” is presented as a Kentucky Muse encore presentation. The 2001 documentary was produced by Jean Donohue and Fred Johnson of Media Working Group, with Walker as consulting producer. “Coal Black Voices” was produced with support from the KET Fund for Independent Production, the Wexner Center Media Arts Program, Ohio State University, the Kentucky Arts Council, the Ohio Arts Council, the Kentucky Humanities Council, the Ohio Humanities Council, and Media Working Group.
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