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Gone Home, The Stories Of Black Coal Miners In Appalachia

By Anita Rao,
Frank Stasio
Published August 4, 2015 at 12:24 PM EDT
Image of miner loading coal in Portal 31 in Lynch, Ky. in the 1920s.
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Miner loading coal in Portal 31 in Lynch, Ky. in the 1920s. The new exhibit Gone Home, Race And Roots in Appalachia documents the story of Lynch and other company-owned communities that were once at the heart of coal country in Kentucky.
Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College and the Appalachian Archives. These photos are part of the U.S. Coal & Coke and International Harvester Image Collection.
Image of men getting pre-screened by U.S. Steel medical examiner for a miner assignment in Lynch, Ky. in the 1920s.
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Men getting pre-screened by U.S. Steel medical examiner for a miner assignment in Lynch, Ky. in the 1920s.
Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College and the Appalachian Archives. These photos are part of the U.S. Coal & Coke and International Harvester Image Collection.
Image of graduating class from one of the segregated 'colored schools' in eastern Kentucky.
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Graduating class from one of the segregated 'colored schools' in eastern Kentucky.
Southern Historical Collection at the Wilson Library | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Image of verdant mountain views from the streets of Harlan County, Ky.
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Verdant mountain views from the streets of Harlan County, Ky.
Southern Historical Collection at the Wilson Library | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Image of school module of the 'Gone Home: Race and Roots through Appalachia' exhibit. The exhibit covers various aspects covered in the EKAAMP oral history interviews, including School, Home, Coal, Genealogy, and Diaspora Communities.
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School module of the 'Gone Home: Race and Roots through Appalachia' exhibit. The exhibit covers various aspects covered in the EKAAMP oral history interviews, including School, Home, Coal, Genealogy, and Diaspora Communities.
Southern Historical Collection at the Wilson Library | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Image of SHC archivist Biff Hollingsworth and EKAAMP founder Karida Brown in the home of Rev. Edgar James Moss. Moss was born and reared in Benham, Ky. in 1940 and currently resides in Newington, Conn.
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SHC archivist Biff Hollingsworth and EKAAMP founder Karida Brown in the home of Rev. Edgar James Moss. Moss was born and reared in Benham, Ky. in 1940 and currently resides in Newington, Conn.
Southern Historical Collection at the Wilson Library | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Image of Gone Home opening night photo on April 28, 2015. (L-R) Richard Brown, Virginia Thomas (Ph.D. student and Gone Home co-curator), Bill Ferris (UNC-Chapel Hill professor) and Karida Brown.
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Gone Home opening night photo on April 28, 2015. (L-R) Richard Brown, Virginia Thomas (Ph.D. student and Gone Home co-curator), Bill Ferris (UNC-Chapel Hill professor) and Karida Brown.
Southern Historical Collection at the Wilson Library | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Tens of thousands of African-Americans called Appalachia home in the early 20th century, yet most popular representations of the region rarely include details about the black experience.

One young researcher sought to change that through an archival project that examines the history and culture of coal mining communities in eastern Kentucky. Karida Brown grew up in New York, but both of her parents are from Lynch, Ky.

Her family’s story is one of hundreds captured in the new Eastern Kentucky African American Migration Project (EKAAPMP), a partnership between Brown and the Southern Historical Collection.

Host Frank Stasio talks with Karida Brown and her father, Richard Brown, about the ongoing project and current exhibit of the work: “Gone Home: Race and Roots through Appalachia” on view at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Wilson Library through August 20.

Tags
The State of ThingsAfrican American HistoryAppalachiaKarida BrownRichard BrownWilson LibraryEKAAPMP
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Anita Rao
Anita Rao is an award-winning journalist, host, creator, and executive editor of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships & health.
See stories by Anita Rao
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio