Appalachia in the Classroom: Teaching the Region

12. From Harlem Home to Affrilachia: Teaching the Literary Journey

213 Twelve From Harlem Home to Affrilachia: Teaching the Literary Journey theresa l. burriss M o s t r e a d e r s o f A p p a l ac h i a n l i t e r a t u r e would not expect to find riffs of 1920s Harlem jazz wafting through this mountain writing . Nor would they anticipate an encounter with the politics of the 1960s Black Arts Movement (BAM). But these unexpected discoveries and more are what readers will find in the poetry and short stories of Affrilachians Frank X Walker, Nikky Finney,and CrystalWilkinson.The writers meld the aesthetics and social agendas of the Harlem Renaissance with the Black Arts Movement to inspire writing chiseled from their Appalachian homeplace. In the process they have forged a new movement, a continuation of these African American literary precursors but infused with Appalachian characteristics,and called it Affrilachian. When asked to define the Affrilachian aesthetic, Walker explains, “I would define [it] as a collective commitment to make the invisible visible, to redefine the literary landscape of the region as one that is more diverse than mass media portrays it as.”1 Nell Irvin Painter, in the foreword to Blacks in Appalachia (Turner and Cabbell 1985), discusses the problem of invisibility when she explains,“Black Appalachians, whose experiences have not conformed to stereotypes of black life, are . . . an invisible people”(xi). In the same work, Edward J. Cabbell demonstrates the result of this problem, for“black invisibility provides strong support to the myth that the number of black people in the mountains is inconsequential” (3). 214 Theresa L. Burriss Because Appalachian literature has traditionally excluded blacks, both in its content and from its canon, the Affrilachians formed to give voice to African Americans and other people of color in the mountains, to demonstrate that they are indeed a people of consequence in the region. Walker continues: This [Affrilachian] aesthetic serves to encourage its members to produce original work that acknowledges a regional consciousness and seeks to validate our own individual stories, defining our selves, our families and our communities rather than conforming to the definitions of others. . . . I feel it is inspired by our relationship to and love of literature and our sense of responsibility to document our families’ stories and cultural traditions.2 In this naming of themselves,Affrilachians obtain control over both their cultural histories and their destinies. And Affrilachia becomes more than just a movement, as the very word“Affrilachia” provides a specific identity and calls attention to an entire group of historically neglected people. I can testify to such a need to call attention to Appalachians of color regardless of whether I’m teaching at the graduate or the undergraduate level. When I introduce the Affrilachians and have students read their poetry and prose, almost all have never heard of the term“Affrilachian,” and the vast majority never realized that Appalachians of color have inhabited the region for hundreds of years.I teach at a medium-sized public comprehensive institution in SouthwestVirginia,with about a third of my students coming from Northern Virginia, another third from the Tidewater/Richmond area, and the final third split between Southside and Southwest Virginia. Only a few hail from outside the Commonwealth. Even many of those students born and raised in the region discover this relatively new term. And while a few may know that black Appalachians have lived in the region for decades, the students are not aware that slavery existed in the mountains. Thus, I’ve found it important to draw attention toWilma Dunaway’s primary research and publications and to refer students to her work for more in-depth scholarship on the issue. Through their poetry and prose, the Affrilachians contribute to both historical and contemporary documentation of black Appalachians by sharing family stories, responding to past and current events, and providing insight into different Affrilachian experiences.They also respond to Jim Wayne Miller ’s claim that “[a] mirror for Appalachia is needed” ([1975] 1996, 448). And Miller quotes Loyal Jones to clarify the use of this mirror,“which will help Appalachians to become ‘aware of who we are and why, and be at ease with 215 From Harlem Home to Affrilachia: Teaching the Literary Journey this knowledge’”(448). Miller goes on to explain,“The record of the past suggests that Appalachians cannot expect others to provide that mirror...