In 2018, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSMNP) started The African American Experiences in the Smokies Project (AAESP). This project focuses on the overlooked history of African Americans in the Smokies and Southern Appalachia. In the 1800’s, southern Appalachia was a remote and socio-economically challenged region. Even with its challenges families thrived, survived, and died in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina for decades. Many of these family’s decedents are living or buried in the area today. This long-standing history of early white settlers and enslaved and free people of color has led to extensive records of cemeteries in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Although the park has documented well-over 150 cemeteries since the 1990’s, African American burials within these cemeteries are not well documented as their white counterparts. In 2019, the park’s AAESP pledged to learn more about African American culture through discovered and undiscovered burials. This research effort of African American burials may help shed light on the lives of African Americans in the park and region.
The Swannanoa Valley This is Home: Western North Carolina, Past and Present Series explores key historical, cultural, and ecological aspects of the Western North Carolina region with monthly evening lectures, taking place February thru November at the Education Room of the Black Mountain Public Library (105 N. Dougherty Street). These hour-long meet-ups engage the many stories that have shaped the Swannanoa Valley as a place and look at the human and natural forces that have shaped the region, bringing these histories into a present-day context. Each presentation ends with a Q&A discussion bringing our shared history into context with contemporary issues. This year, learn more about the place you call home by exploring topics such as local women’s history, the long traditions of ballad singing in Southern Appalachia, legal history of Native American dispossession, and many more!