By Kit Cottrell

The college-wide symposium exploring identity and diversity in Appalachia was a tremendous success with more than 800 people attending the event.  After a brief prologue by Chad Berry, Director of the Appalachian Center, the symposium got underway with brief presentations from a panel of esteemed speakers.

Carl Thomas, Associate Director of Admissions and Coordinator of Minority Services, addressed the issue of what it means to be an African-American in Appalachia and how it relates to identity, asking the audience, “Am I worse off by association with Appalachia or am I better for it?”

Dr. Deborah R. Weiner, author of Coalfield Jews: An Appalachian History, spoke next, recounting the experiences of Jews in Appalachia in the context of living in a predominately-Christian stronghold, noting that “the “level of interfaith cooperation is greater in small towns”.

Summar West, Instructor of Composition at Maryville College, presented the struggle of seeking change from small town life, as well as the fact that “my sexual identity did not include marrying a man”.  West concluded with a thought-provoking poem titled Born Again.

Patty Tarquino, a Berea College graduate who is now a community organizer in the coalfields of Eastern Kentucky, spoke of her origins in Cali, Columbia before immigrating to the United States in 1988 with her mother.  On being a Latina in Appalachia, Tarquino remarked”, We were poor, women, brown, and had no social capital”.

Dr. William H. Turner, the National Endowment for the Humanities Chair in Appalachian Studies, concluded the symposium by addressing the idea that, “If I can understand your identity, then I can find out what makes your boat float.”  Turner recited a poem, a favorite of the Reverend Howard Thurman, that continued the nautical metaphor of ships in a safe harbor.  In ending, Turner asserted, “To discover your own identity, you have to get out of your harbor”.

The symposium then broke up into separate groups to explore further the meaning of diversity and identity as it pertained to Appalachia.  Topics ran the gamut from defining Appalachia geographically to characterizing it in terms of culture and tradition.  Many considered themselves to be Appalachian, while some questioned it and still others felt they would not consider themselves Appalachian.  Regardless of how they responded, however, everyone considered it an interesting subject to investigate and agreed there was more to learn.

The symposium was sponsored by the Appalachian Center and Co-sponsored by Berea College Convocations, Black Cultural Center, African and African-American Studies, Center for Excellence in Learning through Service (CELTS), and Dance Programs.