Virginia writer Emilee Hackney has a complicated relationship with her home. She loves the place where she’s from, in Tazewell County — her friends, family, the swimming holes and mountains and wild places — but she also felt stifled. Her new memoir "All That’s Unseen: An Appalachian Memoir" explores this tension and her experience when she did leave. Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams spoke with Hackney about the book.
Fairfield District Mural Honors Huntington Community’s Black Heritage
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A large crowd gathered at the Unlimited Future Incubator in the Fairfield district of Huntington for the unveiling of the second mural in the Past to Our Future: 3 Building Mural Project.
The incubator regularly engages in community revitalization projects in Fairfield, such as the mural project. It aims to paint murals on prominent buildings in the Fairfield community that reflect the community’s Black American heritage.
“The beauty of this is to recognize those who have done so much within our community,” Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said. “We’re able to walk and drive by here and be able to see the history of Fairfield, the history of Huntington, the history of the Ohio River Valley, and indeed, and let’s make sure that everybody knows it, the history of West Virginia is celebrated in each of these individuals.”
David Adkins
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Mitzi Sinnott, organizer of the mural project, introducing Huntington Mayor Steve Williams
Betsy Casañas is the mural artist of the mural. She is from Philadelphia and is the director of a Seed on Diamond Gallery and founder of Semilla Arts Initiative.
Mitzi Sinnott, organizer of the mural project, said that Casañas was chosen because of her specific ability to paint on non-flat surfaces, and for her ability to reflect the community she’s painting for.
David Adkins
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Betsy Casañas’ Signature
“She chose the river birch tree, which is indigenous to the Ohio River Valley. She was talking about putting the people we choose to honor inside of birch leaves,” Sinnott said. “If you look at the mural, the woman, she is the divine feminine, who is the bridge between the heavens and earth, and we are rooted by her on Earth. So her roots are there and she actually is becoming a tree.”
David Adkins
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Woman in the center of Betsy Casañas’ mural
Bishop Samuel Moore is one of the people included in the mural.
“To have your picture on this, I mean, it’s just overwhelming,” Moore said. “It’s very humbling to me, because it will be here for a long time. I came here from Huntington for Bluefield in 1985, and so this community, we’ve embraced it, and it’s embraced us.”.
David Adkins
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Founders of The Unlimited Future Incubator and Mitzi Sinnott
The mural project began with Ernel Martinez’s mural on the side of Ebenezer Daycare and will continue with the J.W. Scott Center. For more information, you can visit the project’s website at www.unlimitedfuture.org/3buildingmural/.
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Virginia writer Emilee Hackney has a complicated relationship with her home. She loves the place where she’s from, in Tazewell County — her friends, family, the swimming holes and mountains and wild places — but she also felt stifled. Her new memoir "All That’s Unseen: An Appalachian Memoir" explores this tension and her experience when she did leave. Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams spoke with Hackney about the book.
The West Virginia Manufacturers Association has just launched its inaugural Coolest Thing Made In West Virginia tournament. We caught up with WVMA President Bill Bissett to find out what organizers hope will come from the competition – and what makes a really cool product.
Roadside farmstands with homemade jams and bread are a common sight in Appalachia. Because they’re unmanned, many of them work on the honor system: Take a carton of berries, leave some cash. But the humble farm stand is changing to keep up with an increasingly cash-free society. Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch recently visited a stand in Wythe County, Virginia and has this.
