The United Shades of America

Nikki Giovanni, Appalachian poet of the Black revolution, replies poetically and practically with these words as she prepares chitlins with host W. Kamau Bell. Throughout the second episode of Bell's seventh season of The United Shades of America, “Black in Appalachia,” Giovanni's words are a theme that climbs up hills, travels into hollers, explores woods and farms, and eventually settles at tables, on porches, and around campfires in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Throughout the region, Bell visits Black Appalachians who share and reflect upon this work that accompanies being Black in Appalachia and the good that exists today (though often removed from the narrative), which is the fruit of the labor of generations of Black Appalachians. Bell opens the episode with a harmonica lesson, possibly making more than a few Appalachians roll their eyes, thinking “Here we go again.” However, the episode's true beauty lies in Bell's ability to deftly and honestly navigate often stereotypical practices to embrace truths that exist beneath the customs and beliefs that define being Appalachian. Poet, founder of the news organization Black By God, and self-appointed docent of Appalachia, Crystal Good is Bell's expert and contemplative guide throughout this revelatory process. Good's contribution enhances Bell's process by inserting critical details left out of the Appalachian narrative. Early in the episode, Good explains Harper's Ferry in terms of the John Brown story, but then expands upon this established narrative to include Storer College, where the first meeting of the Niagara Movement—the foundation of the NAACP—was held. Bell, Good, and the show's creators effectively create, establish, and follow this road map: identify established narrative or cultural practice, expose meaning and underlying misconceptions, and reveal Black Appalachian elements left out of the narrative.Bell joins Marcus Oglesby in the woods at one stop in the journey for squirrel hunting and pawpaw (Asimina triloba) picking, revealing a lifestyle where necessity has taught self-sufficiency and patience, though often presented as Appalachian foolery, isolation, and lack of education. Oglesby states, “We are nature,” reflecting on not only the strength and skill it takes to sustain yourself in nature but also the right of humans to participate in the ebb and flow of the giving and taking away necessary in the circle of life. Oglesby's skills and practices are his life, yet they also serve as an act of resistance against the accepted narrative, one in which Appalachian independence is often wrongly represented—an independence that until now was rarely presented as Black.Down the road in eastern Kentucky, Dr. Bill Turner reflects on the fate of Lynch, a small town, like so many in Appalachia, dependent on coal, which has lost its young sons and daughters after being abandoned by the coal companies. He explains to Bell that one in five coal miners in Appalachia were Black during the time Lynch saw its population boom at ten thousand. Turner's visit weaves the episode together by showing the hard work by generations of Appalachians that created good for the families living in those thriving communities, while also shining a light on the missing piece of the narrative—that these miners and families were often Black.Stories shared throughout the episode from Black Appalachians young and old contain a spiritual element: their souls reside in this place. Despite being removed from the narrative—and in some cases physically removed—Black Appalachians have resided and continue to reside in the region. While some sons and daughters have left, Bell dares to create the possibility of hope by inserting truth into the present narrative, as poignantly explained by McDowell Farms owner Jason Tart, that “Appalachia needs to be known as a place Black folks come from.” Perhaps through Bell's storytelling, some of the children who have left can return, to join with those who have stayed, to—as Tart states, both literally and figuratively—“reestablish the roots” of Black Appalachians through agriculture, creativity, production, and truth.