What Does Affrilachian Mean?
The term “Affrilachian” is a portmanteau blending “African” and “Appalachian“. The words was coined in 1991 by poet Frank X Walker to acknowledge the long-overlooked presence, history, and cultural contributions of Black people in the Appalachian region.
For centuries, the dominant narrative of Appalachia—a vast mountainous area stretching from southern New York to northern Mississippi—has been shaped by stereotypes of poor, rural, white communities, erasing the diverse racial and ethnic groups that have lived there for generations.
His term challenged this monolithic image, asserting that Black Appalachians have always been an integral part of the region’s history, culture, and literary tradition. The word “Affrilachian” does more than describe geography; it reclaims identity, resisting the assumption that Appalachia is exclusively white.
It affirms that Black people have deep roots in the region—descendants of enslaved Africans brought to work in mines and farms, participants in the Great Migration, and modern-day artists, activists, and storytellers shaping contemporary Appalachian culture.
Affrilachian Poets
Frank X Walker founded the Affrilachian Poets in the early 1990s, a collective of Black writers from Appalachia dedicated to expanding the literary canon and telling their own stories.
The group emerged from a writing workshop at the University of Kentucky and grew into a powerful movement, including poets such as:
- Frank X Walker (the group’s founder, former Kentucky Poet Laureate)
- Nikky Finney (National Book Award winner)
- Crystal Wilkinson (award-winning novelist and poet)
- Kelly Norman Ellis (scholar and poet)
- Ricardo Nazario y Colón (poet and visual artist)
Read Also: Verses in Literature: Definition, Types, and Examples
All these writers challenged stereotypes of Appalachia by exploring themes of race, heritage, labor, nature, and resilience in their work.
Their poetry blends Appalachian vernacular, African American oral traditions, and contemporary verse, creating a unique literary voice that defies easy categorization.
Themes of Affrilachian Poetry
Affrilachian poets write against erasure, documenting Black life in a region often misrepresented as racially homogeneous. Their work explores:
History and Memory – Recovering lost stories of Black Appalachians, from coal miners to educators.
Land and Belonging – Examining connections to the Appalachian landscape amid displacement and migration.
Race and Identity – Navigating what it means to be both Black and Appalachian in America.
Family and Oral Tradition – Preserving storytelling traditions passed down through generations.
Read Also: Understanding Rhymes and Their Types in Poetry
By publishing anthologies like Affrilachia: Poems by Frank X Walker (2000) and Black Bone: 25 Years of the Affrilachian Poets (2019), the group has reshaped regional literature, ensuring Black Appalachian voices are heard in national conversations about poetry, race, and place.
Poet Nazir is a writer and an editor here on ThePoetsHub. Outside this space, he works as a poet, screenwriter, author, relationship adviser and a reader. He is also the founder & lead director of PNSP Studios, a film production firm.
