Freedom Stories: Melungeon Culture

International Storytelling Center to Explore Melungeon Culture in Virtual Event

(Jonesborough, Tenn.) – The International Storytelling Center (ISC), home to the world-renowned National Storytelling Festival and Storytelling Live! Teller-in-Residence series, will host a free virtual event titled Melungeon: The Criminalization of Race on Saturday, November 7th, from 1-2:30 pm as part of the Freedom Stories project. This will be the sixth Freedom Stories event and the final event for 2020 before programming begins again in 2021.

ISC’s Freedom Stories is an ongoing series that illuminates the underappreciated and neglected stories of African Americans in Appalachian history and highlights the role that face-to-face storytelling has played in both African and Appalachian cultures. Through Freedom Stories virtual events, the project marries performance and discussion, connecting prominent African American storytellers, artists, humanities scholars, and community experts to trace the rich history of African Americans in Appalachia—from the first African arrivals in Appalachia, to the shaping of a distinct culture, to the struggles for freedom and equality. The project will also produce multi-media resources that will be made accessible to a national audience.

As the nation learns to grapple with difficult truths, this free public event will serve as a model for how to engage in productive discussions around complex topics. Through performance and discussion with storyteller Lyn Ford, author and community scholar Wayne Winkler, and Anthony Mayle, Marietta College Office of Diversity and Inclusion Assistant Director, we will examine the unique development of multiple racial identities and challenge the story of Appalachian monoculturalism. The panel will be moderated by ISC Freedom Stories Project Director, Dr. Alicestyne Turley.

The live panel discussion will take place on November 7th, from 1-2:30 pm EST on the International Storytelling Center’s Facebook timeline and will be followed by a public Q & A. The event will be recorded and made available to watch with closed-captioning post-event.

Alicestyne Turley, Director of the Freedom Stories Project states of the November Freedom Stories event “Today’s audiences have very limited, generalized knowledge of Appalachian culture, namely that it’s all Scot-Irish, a knowledge informed primarily by American media and pop culture. The truth is that the culture of Appalachia is like the region itself, diverse in its traditions, people, and ethnic groups. The November public discussion will be a brief look at this complex and overlooked aspect of American and regional history.”

Kiran Singh Sirah, President of ISC, says these Freedom Stories discussions are important to our region in the context of the national movement of storytelling. “For example, how many of us know that in Appalachia, more people identify as African American than Scots-Irish?” asks Sirah. “The project is not meant to neglect or subdue the stories we do know, but rather to bring forward, in public conversation, the untold stories that contribute to the uniqueness and rich traditions of Appalachia. These stories are integral to the history of the region, and Appalachia (while often othered) is integral to the story of our entire nation.”

The project is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Discussions Grant, an award based on projects that bring the ideas and insights of the humanities to life for general audiences. ISC would like to thank the following organizations for their support of the Freedom Stories Project: National Association of Black Storytellers (NABS), Appalachian African American Cultural Center, Black in Appalachia, Black/White Dialogue, Green McAdoo Cultural Center, Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee & Southwest Virginia, Langston Centre, Leadership and Civic Engagement at East Tennessee State University, McKinney Center, Northeast Tennessee Tourism Association, and the Town of Jonesborough.

To learn more about the International Storytelling Center and upcoming Freedom Stories programming, please visit www.storytellingcenter.net.