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Appalachia’s people of color have borne greater social and economic burdens, on average, than their White counterparts, but their stories are often left out of policy discussions about energy and other issues in the region.                              Appalachia’s people of color have borne greater social and economic burdens, on average, than their White counterparts, but their stories are often left out of policy discussions about energy and other issues in the region. A new coalition is now seeking to amplify those unheard voices. The Black Appalachian Coalition is an initiative of Black Women Rising. Bishop Marcia Dinkins, the group’s founder and executive director, recently talked with the Energy News Network about its work to shift from a single story about Appalachia. Q: Why do we need conversations with Appalachia’s people of color about the effects of fossil fuels, pollution and other problems? A: “We should be having these conversations because Black people are impacted,” Dinkins said. “And when we look at the inequities with regards to exploitation, extraction and exclusion — historically and presently — it continues to divest from these voices.” As she sees it, people often have one view of America and a separate view of rural America that is primarily White. By numbers, Black people are a small minority in many parts of Appalachia. “But it does not mean there should be an absence of these rural voices.” Q: What’s the result of a system

The Appalachian region has long dealt with environmental pollution and economic disinvestment, and a new coalition wants to ensure its Black residents have a seat at the table as these issues are addressed by the Biden administration. Read More…The Appalachian region has long dealt with environmental pollution and economic disinvestment, and a new coalition wants to ensure its Black residents have a seat at the table as these issues are addressed by the Biden administration. The Black Appalachian Coalition, or BLAC, is a four-state collaboration of organizers who say they aim to disrupt the narrative that the region is only white and rural. Bishop Marcia Dinkins, executive director of Ohio Interfaith Power and Light, said it’s time to reframe the story of Appalachia. “And if we don’t go back and take back that which is ours, meaning the land, meaning the story, meaning our Black identity,” she said, “what we’ll continue to find ourselves sitting in is a whitewashed narrative that has romanticized Appalachia to be rooted in whiteness, and continually building policies that only reach out to white people.” Read the article in its entirety on BCTV