Ready to dig deeper?
Here are some resources where you can learn even more about WNC's rich African American history
A website that centers historically marginalized communities in WNC by working with community partners to design a repository of digitized materials
A website about the legacy of Madame Phoebia Cheek Sullivan and the creation of Sullivan Memorial Park, adjacent to Reclamation Park
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Appalachians and Race: the Mountain South from Slavery to Segregation
A collection of scholarly essays published in 2001 and edited by John C. Inscoe
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The Kingdom of the Happyland
Written by Sadie Smathers Patton in 1957 about a group of emancipated people who established a community near Zirconia, N.C.
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Mountain Masters: Slavery and the Sectional Crisis in Western North Carolina
Written in 1989 by John C. Inscoe
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Just Over The Hill: Black Appalachians in Jackson County, Western North Carolina
A collection of community histories and family stories spanning from 1825-1965. Written by Victoria A. Casey McDonald in 2012
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When All God's Children Get Together: A Celebration of the Lives and Music of African American People in Far Western North Carolina
Written by Ann Miller Woodford in 2021. This book contains literary portraits, historical narratives, and hundreds of photos that document African American communities from the seven westernmost counties of WNC
A website created and maintained by Henderson County's Black Research Committee.