‘Fixing a problem we didn’t cause’: Black Appalachian activists cultivating power

By Melissa Hellmann, The Guardian

While just 10% of Appalachia is made up of Black residents, they are disproportionately impacted by resource extraction that has led to adverse effects on the environment, health and access to food. But Black activists in Appalachia such as Staysha Quentrill, a midwife and reproductive justice advocate in West Virginia; the Right Rev Marcia Dinkins, an environmental justice advocate in Ohio; and Femeika Elliott, a foodways practictioner in Tennessee are working to improve the wellbeing and safety of the people in their communities.

In her work as the founder of the Black Appalachian Coalition (Blac), an environmental justice group, Dinkins said she seeks to “dismantle the romanticized whitewashed narrative around Appalachia”.

“When people heard Appalachia, the first thing they thought about was that Appalachia was white, so it invisibilized Black people,” Dinkins said. “Even though they were exploited, they were also excluded from conversations.”

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