The Appalachian Retelling Project

07/09/2024

Follow along with Kentucky to the World for a series about Appalachian representation written by this project’s creator!

From heartfelt family stories in coal camps to the damaging portrayals in mainstream media, Elon Justice has witnessed how narratives can uplift or distort. Inspired by this, she founded The Appalachian Retelling Project to reclaim Appalachian voices and break down harmful stereotypes.

Discover more in our latest post: https://www.kentuckytotheworld.org/blog/breaking-down-appalachian-stereotypes-how-a-charity-episode-of-american-idol-turned-me-into-a-media-scholar

Shoutout to our partners at Accelerate KY! We are excited to bring you many stories highlighting the work of the creators in the Civic Imagination Incubator.

25/06/2024

NEW POST! Last July, we hosted our first in-person storytelling workshop at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg, KY, where attendees shared stories of their experience with Appalachian culture. Read participants’ conversations and listen to some of the stories shared at the link in bio.

25/06/2024

NEW POST! Last July, we hosted our first in-person storytelling workshop at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg, KY, where attendees shared stories of their experience with Appalachian culture. Read participants' conversations and listen to some of the stories shared at the link below.

Photographs courtesy of Roger Strunk.On July 8, 2023, a small group of people from around Eastern Kentucky gathered at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg, KY for The Appalachian Retelling Project’s first-ever storytelling workshop. The theme of the event, broadly, was Appalachian culture. Pa...

01/04/2024

In January 2022, I traveled to Fleming County High School to see how they were rethinking what a successful high school education could look like. For a thousand reasons I won't get into here, I'm just finishing editing this video over 2 years later. A huge thank you to principal Austin Hart for showing me around and for his tremendous patience since then!

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A high school in Fleming County, KY is taking an unconventional approach to education. At Fleming County High School, students have the option to focus on both college and career-ready education pathways, acquiring hands-on experience in welding, automotive repair, nursing, farming, and more. Combining career-readiness with traditional education in math, English, and science, test scores are higher than ever and students say they feel prepared for the life they want after graduation.

Watch the video at the link below!

12/12/2023

We're back with a new Guest Post. Returning contributor P.K. Compton shares his recollections of the 1958 bus crash in Floyd County, KY, that resulted in the deaths of dozens of students and forever changed the community.

It’s been said that no matter how painful something is, if we lose our hope, that's our real disaster. Those words pale in comparison to the experience that the people of Floyd County, Kentucky went through on the cold and rainy Friday morning of February 28, 1958. The small community of Prestonsb...

17/08/2023

Check out our creator Elon Justice’s interview with Will and Neil Warren of Appalachia Meets World! Together, they discuss the impact of Appalachian media representation, what inspired the creation of Appalachian Retelling, and the importance of local stories.

"Challenging the Appalachian narrative, one story at a time!" In this episode, Neil and Will sit down with the Appalachian, the Filmmaker, the Writer and Storyteller - Elon Justice. Upon working on her graduate school thesis, she came to the realization that "stories - Appalachian stories - have pow...

17/05/2023

Check out our creator Elon Justice’s interview with the Story Made podcast! She talks Appalachian stereotypes, the inspiration behind this project, and her own experience navigating perceptions of Appalachia in and out of the region.

New Episode ‼️🎧 Our conversation this week is with Elon Justice - filmmaker, writer, creator of the and child of Pikeville, Kentucky.

"Challenging the narrative of Appalachia - one story at a time." Raised in Eastern Kentucky, Elon heard stories from her family that taught her who she is and where she comes from - and to be proud of it. But she also saw firsthand how negative, steretypical images of her home had the power to cause harm to the people and places she loved. So she decided to do something to change that.

Rooted in co-creation, the Appalachian Retelling Project shares stories that lift unheard voices and give an honest glance into what it means to be from the mountains. The people of Appalachia are tired of others talking about who they are, so this is a space for them to talk back. "Mountains stories, on our own terms" - as they should be told.

In this episode, Elon talks about growing up in Pikeville, the influence of her family, her first recollections of Appalachian stereotypes, moving away for college, her wild and powerful journey to the Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT), why she started the retelling project, co-creation and community-based storytelling, and much more. I hope you listen!

Location: BitSource on Hambley Ave. in Pikeville, KY.

Links in bio to listen. Please share and subscribe to our podcast! 🙏🏼

12/04/2023

On Saturday, February 4, 2023, the historic gym in Wayland, Kentucky saw its first high school basketball game in over 50 years as the Mountain Sports Hall of Fame hosted its first ever Throwback Game. The game, a face-off between Floyd County Central and Knott County Central high schools, paid homage to two Eastern Kentucky high schools lost to consolidation in the 1970s.

During the game, Floyd Central’s team wore Wayland Wasp jerseys, while Knott Central players represented the Hindman Yellowjackets. Displays of memorabilia from schools throughout Eastern Kentucky – most no longer in existence – lined the walls of the gym’s second floor. Cheerleaders wore retro uniforms and performed cheers popular during the schools’ heydays. And the gym, looking much as it did when it was built in 1937, was packed with young and old basketball fans alike.

Read more about the event and what it meant to the community of Wayland on the blog: https://www.theappalachianretellingproject.com/post/honoring-eastern-kentucky-s-consolidated-schools

04/04/2023

NEW ESSAY! In our final student submission, Letcher Central senior Callie Creech sums up this series perfectly: Stories bring us together. Check out her essay (and her awesome original artwork!) on the importance of storytelling in her own life as an Appalachian at the link below!

That’s a wrap on this series - a huge thank you to all the students who shared their stories! If you are a high school or college educator who’s interested in working together on a series like this, our DMs are open 🤓

"Stories Bring Us Together" by Callie Creech. Growing up in Appalachia means growing up being told hundreds of folk tales and stories in hundreds of different forms. As a child the things I remember most are creative plays, stories in the form of music, and competitions where Appalachians would put....

28/03/2023

“This is but a mere glimpse at the way of life for many hardworking Appalachians. Hundreds of thousands of people live within the hills and hollers that surround our home, each and every one with a different personality and a different trait. We all stick together, we all work to survive, we all have a role to play in the community.”

In our second to last student submission, Letcher Central senior Micah Turner shares a glimpse into the many facets of life that exist around him in Appalachia. Check out his photo essay “The Appalachian Way” at the link below!

When you hear the word “Appalachian,” the words “redneck” or “hillbilly”, often follow or are considered synonymous. In most portrayals, we Appalachians are depicted as helpless, mindless individuals who need someone who is “better” than us to survive. This inaccurate depiction has s...

21/03/2023

New video! In this week’s student submission, Letcher Central junior Rebekah McAuley and senior Abigail McDougal explore the ways that Appalachian people have historically and continue to make use of the natural resources around them.

Watch their video “Within the Mountains” at the link below!

Produced by Rebekah McAuley and Abigail McDougal. “Within the Mountains" highlights ways that Appalachian people have historically and continue to make use of the natural resources around them. Rebekah McAuley is a junior at Letcher County Central High School in Whitesburg, Kentucky. Rebekah spent...

14/03/2023

New post! In this week’s Student Submission, three Letcher Central seniors share their personal experiences in the aftermath of the July 2022 flooding that devastated Eastern Kentucky. In this podcast segment, Halle, Hanna, and Skyler discuss how they and their community came together during an incredibly difficult time.

Check out their podcast segment “From the Other Side of the Water” at the link below!

Produced by Hanna Maggard, Halle Kincer, and Skyler Holbrook. This podcast gives insight into the personal experiences of three students during the July 2022 floods in Eastern Kentucky and how they saw their community come together in this trying time. Halle Kincer is a senior at Letcher County Cent...

08/03/2023

“As time passes and people get older, ways of living tend to change in certain areas, and that can definitely be said for many Appalachian traditions. It is hard to imagine a time when swinging bridges were a primary way to reach your home, snake handling was taking place in many churches, or people didn’t gather at funeral homes but inside personal homes to pay respect to the deceased.”

In this week’s student submission, Letcher Central freshman Harrison Addington reflects on three pieces of Appalachian culture that are less prevalent now than they were in the past. Check out his essay “Lost Appalachian Culture” at the link below!

Growing up and living in Appalachia is a unique experience. The culture here is unlike any other when it comes to food, family traditions, and dialect, just to mention a few. However, as time goes on, many of the traditions or ways of living that so many of us have heard about or experienced are slo...

28/02/2023

New post! In the second installment of our Student Submissions collaboration with Letcher Central High School, Allie Cornett interviews her grandmother Ursula, a German immigrant to the US. Ursula shares her journey to Appalachia and her thoughts on life in the mountains.

Watch the video “Ursula Cornett, German Immigrant to Appalachia” at the link below!

Video produced by Allie Cornett. Ursula Cornett, German Immigrant to Appalachia describes Ursula’s journey to Eastern Kentucky and her thoughts on life in the mountains. Allie Cornett is a senior at Letcher County Central High School. She is a member of the Digital Media Class where she created th...

21/02/2023

NEW POST 🥘

In our first Student Submission, 9th grader Colby Amburgey explores the importance of food in Appalachian culture. Colby interviews relatives and community members about their thoughts and memories of Appalachian food and its importance in the region.

Watch the video at the link below!

Video produced by Colby Amburgey. Appalachian Food Culture is a video that discusses the importance of food in Appalachia. Our community is lucky enough to have the organization, Community Agricultural Nutritional Enterprise, supports the growth of local food and builds entrepreneurial opportunities...

20/02/2023

NEW SERIES INCOMING!

It’s been a while since we’ve posted, but we’ve been busy moving and shaking behind the scenes. I’m excited to announce that one of the projects we’ve been working on is finally ready to be shared: our first collaboration with high school students! We’ve partnered with the Digital Media class at Letcher Central High School in Whitesburg, KY to share students’ stories about life in Appalachia.

Every Tuesday for the next 7 weeks, we’ll be sharing a new student’s submission, ranging from videos to essays and even podcasts and illustrations. Each one is a little bit different, but they all answer the same question: “What’s a story about Appalachia you haven’t seen in media?” We’ll be sharing our first post in the series tomorrow, so keep an eye out!

P.S. If you’re an educator and you’d like to work with us on a future classroom collaboration, shoot us a message! We’d love to work with you.

17/08/2022

“No matter if we had never met, we helped. If we had moved away, we helped. If we did not agree, we helped. We helped because nobody else would.”

In our latest guest post, Lakota shares his thoughts about the recent flooding in Eastern Kentucky, from frustrations about the causes to pride in those who are helping. Read his essay at the link below.

Please note: All guest posts are the opinion of the author. If you would like to provide your own perspective, you can submit an essay through our site.

When we tell our young folks about “The Floods of ‘22,” we won’t be able to tell them how our government sent in aid to help us. We won’t be able to tell them about how people came from all over the country, generously giving their time, labor, and dollars to help Appalachia. We will tell ...

12/08/2022

I’ve gotten a few inquiries about this, so I wanted to put out an open call. Eastern Kentucky is still hurting badly from the catastrophic flooding at the end of July. And yet, many stories are being shared of neighbors coming together to help one another. If you have a story you’d like to tell, or want to share your thoughts on the flood in general, we are accepting submissions on this topic. ❤️

01/06/2022

Calling all teachers! School is out and summer is finally here. But for teachers, we all know that planning for the next semester is just around the corner. If you are a high school or college-level educator based in the Appalachian region, we want to partner with you in the upcoming school year!

If you teach a subject area such as English, social studies, media arts, Appalachian studies, etc. and want to think about how your students can create content that combats stereotypes and creates a more multifaceted portrait of the Appalachian region - and might get featured on our website in the process - we want to hear from you! Please fill out this form and we'll get in touch.

https://forms.gle/T1mfYnjX9b8AEMgv6

07/04/2022

NEW VIDEO! Traci Fields Tackett, 54, and Holly Fields Collins, 102, are two generations of women who are passionate about making quilts. Both born in Hazard, KY, they each fell in love with the art of quilting at a young age. Together, they discuss their experiences of quilting in two different generations, as well as how they see the art as connected to a long tradition of Appalachian resilience.

View more stories at theappalachianretellingproject.com.

01/12/2021

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: If you signed up for our newsletter you got this news one day early, but we are thrilled to announce our first ever themed call for submissions! This month’s theme is Holiday Traditions, and we’re asking questions like:
🎁 Does your family or community celebrate a particularly interesting holiday tradition?
🌟 Do you celebrate multiple holidays from multiple cultures?
❄️ Is there a memorable story from years past that always gets told when the family gets together?
🎉 What does the holiday season mean to you as an Appalachian?
Answer one of these prompts (or make up one of your own) by sending in a short essay, collection of photos, or even a video highlighting what the holidays look like for you by December 31st and we’ll feature it on the site. Have questions or want help figuring out an idea? Reach out via DM or shoot us an email at [email protected]. Happy December! ☃️

29/11/2021

Have you signed up for our newsletter yet? 📬 Get updates on the latest news, posts, and more by signing up on our homepage. Don’t miss out - our first one is going out soon! Sign up at theappalachianretellingproject.com.

05/11/2021

Today is the day! I am SO excited to announce the official re-launch of The Appalachian Retelling Project. Along with a new look and layout (including categories so you can explore the types of content that interest you most!), I’m most excited about the new ways you can get involved with the project. These options include:

📝 Creating your own submission - now called Guest Posts - about a topic you’re interested in or in response to one of our occasional calls for submissions (more on that at a later date)

🗣 Suggesting a topic, story, or event you’d like to see us cover by reaching out via DM or at [email protected]

🔗 Collaborating with us - either by yourself or with your group or organization - on a topic in which you have deep experience or are a subject matter expert

📩 Contacting us even if you don’t have a specific idea or just want to say hello - you never know what can come out of a conversation!

I’m so excited to start this next phase of Appalachian Retelling, and I hope you’ll consider being part of it. Some new content is in the works, but in the meantime, check out the new website at theappalachianretellingproject.com. Have an idea and want to talk? I’m all ears!

04/11/2021

Only one more day until the launch of our new website! I’m so excited to share our new site look and layout, as well as all the new ways you can get involved! See you tomorrow! 🤩

02/11/2021

Did you miss us? 🥳
After a much-needed hiatus, I’m excited to announce that The Appalachian Retelling Project is officially returning! We’ll be kicking things off THIS FRIDAY with a new look, new website, and new ways to get involved. Plus, some exciting new content is in the works 🤩 I’ll be sharing more this Friday - can’t wait to see you then!