Attending to Place, Race, and Community: Trans-Local Partnering Between Scholars and Activists in Central Appalachia and the Black Belt South

Abstract

Abstract The communities in the Black Belt South and Central Appalachian regions in the United States share long histories of persistent subjugation. Both regions also have strong traditions of partnerships between grassroots activists and scholars—partnerships that have, at times, lent resilient responses to political, economic and cultural challenges, and at other times, been less hospitable to inclusivity, particularly of the voices from community members. This article discusses the background of an attempt by scholars and activists from these regions to forge trans-local partnerships between the Appalachian Studies Association and the Black Belt Action Network (BBAN). The goal of these emerging conversations is to share resources between these organizations, both lessons learned in the form of the development and practice of place-based regional curricula such as those instituted and refined by Appalachian Studies Programs, and to engage in a process of reciprocal, storied learning as both regional organizations work to mobilize, theorize, and strategize authentic community-university partnerships in rich and dynamic places.

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