Ciao from foggy, dreary Atlanta!
I know I promised to write about “Harry & Meghan” this week, but I’ve decided to wait until next week’s Part Two has aired to give a comprehensive take. I’m marinating!
Instead, today I want to tell you about Margo Miller and a part of the United States that I have fallen in love with over the past decade — Appalachia.
Margo is the executive director of the Appalachian Community Fund and she has become one of the most powerful people in philanthropy in the Appalachian region, which is made up of some or all of 13 states. Margo, who describes herself as a “proud Black mountain woman,” is the subject of a profile I wrote last week for The New York Times. The profile is the first in a new series, called “Transforming Spaces,” about women driving change in unexpected places.
I was drawn to Margo after a friend who is way smarter than I suggested that I look into her and her work a few months ago. I was impressed by the reach and impact of the fund, which supports organizations, individuals and groups working to advance social, economic, racial and environmental justice across Appalachia. I was even more impressed with Margo, whose family has been in the region for at least three generations and her love of the region. How often do you hear about Black people (or anyone, really) thriving in Appalachia? Not nearly enough.
Many years ago, when a friend invited me to his hometown of Hazard, Kentucky, I wasn’t sure what to expect if I went. Google had me thinking the worst. Even though I loved my friend, his family and friends, who I’d met, something about going to the mountains (be serious. Me in the MOUNTAINS?) with a bunch of white people for several days did not speak to my soul. But if nothing else, I love a trip and am obsessed with my friends, so I went. And I loved it. The next year, I went back. The year after that, I went back. I’ve been back a lot. Google had misled me. And, yes, there were Black people! I
I’ve often wondered why so much of what we read, see, hear and learn about Appalachia is about poverty, tragedy, loss and strife when my own experiences have shown me so much more than that. I’m not saying there isn’t poverty or that everyone is living their best life all the time. The challenges the region is dealing with are well-documented and should continue to be talked about, but what’s more interesting is the work that people like Margo are doing.
Writing about Margo gave me an excuse to learn about local bookshops, art centers, farmers markets, budding and thriving businesses and the social justice and community organizing happening across the region. There is so much (re)development and there are so many great stories of hope and community to tell. I’m so glad I got to tell one of them.
Ciao for now.