National Archives to Host Live Recording of Popular PBS Podcast Black in Appalachia
By Pete Lewis | National Archives News
WASHINGTON, October 10, 2024 – On Tuesday, October 15, at 7 p.m., the National Archives in Washington, DC, will host a live-recorded episode of the PBS Black in Appalachia podcast, moderated by Dr. Enkeshi El-Amin. The event will be free and open to the public.
Children of miners for the Gilliam Coal and Coke Company, sit on a fence in McDowell County, West Virginia. View in Catalog
Dr. El-Amin studies links between ethnicity and place, and the lives of African American communities in Appalachia and beyond. She will engage in discussion on African American life in the coal communities of Eastern Kentucky with Dr. Karida Brown, professor of Sociology at Emory University, and Ron Carson, co-founder of the Appalachian African American Cultural Center.
"What an exciting opportunity this is for us to be doing Black in Appalachia at the National Archives. This event is a sort of reunion for us where we get to connect with some of our favorite people in our field, and share stories and explore new themes in black coal mining experiences in the region,” said El-Amin. “And then there is the fact that we are recording at the National Archives. As people who do historical research, this is a big deal! We are always looking for materials that are kept in these repositories and planning to make visits so this feels very special."
The Black in Appalachia podcast challenges the typical concept of Appalachia as a cultural White homogeneity. Highlighting both contemporary and historical tales, the podcast explores how African Americans have lived throughout the region.
“The PBS podcast Black in Appalachia does a wonderful job of shining a light on a community that has not generally been in the public eye of our nation—an overlooked community of African Americans, within the often-unseen community of Appalachians,” said Damani Davis, Subject Matter Expert for Records Relating to the African American Experience. “The National Archives is proud to host this live recording and open discussion. This episode speaks about communities very similar to those highlighted in our own exhibit, Power & Light: Russell Lee’s Coal Survey, which is open to the public here at the National Archives in Washington, DC through Sunday, December 7, 2025.”
Those interested in attending the live recording of the Black in Appalachia podcast may register here. You may also view the event on the National Archives YouTube Channel.
Visit the National Archives online for more news, and view the Calendar of Events for upcoming programs.
Visit the National Archives Catalog to search digitized federal records in our holdings.
Power & Light: Russell Lee’s Coal Survey and programs presented in conjunction with the exhibit are made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of The Mars Family & Mars, Incorporated and Anonymous.