In the spring of 2020, the AMERC Board moved to become proactive in celebrating the rich history and diversity of Appalachia. We affirmed the diverse and complex ecosystems in 205,000 square-mile region that runs from Southern New York to Northern Georgia. We recalled the Cherokee and other First Nation’s stories of creation. We celebrated the rich diversity of the people who dwell in these cherished mountains. The history of Appalachia is often limited to the stories of white settlers’ place-making in the mountains. As a result, many people have come to believe that Appalachia is home to an analogous white population. Missing from our history books are the names of the first Americans who were forced from the mountain land. Missing from our memories of the African women and men who were “stolen away from the motherland” that settlers might build the famed Kanawha (West Virginia) salt industry.
List of Grants: coming soon
As Appalachian scholar Danielle Dulken writes, “To indulge in an illusion of a homogeneous white geography has harmful consequences. Namely, it erases the histories of Native and Black and Brown people who live in the mountains of Western North Carolina and beyond. [1]Dulken’s statement rings with truth. People of color have had a profound impact on the economy and social landscape of Appalachia. Tragically, their stories are seldom told.
AMERC is pleased to announce five grants that will be awarded to faculty members teaching in our consortium schools or are staff members of our denominational member organizations. These grants may be used towards new research or as a part of ongoing studies in the following areas:
- Art (dance, literature, composition) growing out of the Appalachian African American community. These expressions of art may be historical or contemporary. AMERC will ask for a three-page or four page (750-1,000 word) article that will be published on AMERC’s webpage within 12 months of the grant. A one-page double spaced abstract naming your research idea and a schedule for completion should be emailed to lonoliver@mac.com. If accepted the grant award will be for $2,500.
- Research into an aspect of first (native) American life and culture in Appalachia. AMERC will ask for a three-page or four page (750-1,000 word) article that will be published on AMERC’s webpage within 12 months of the grant. A one-page double spaced abstract naming your research idea and a schedule for completion should be emailed to lonoliver@mac.com. If accepted the grant award will be for $2,500.
- Research or literature focusing on the GLTBQ+ community. AMERC will ask for a three-page or four page (750-1,000 word) article that will be published on AMERC’s webpage within 12 months of the grant. A one-page double spaced abstract naming your research idea and a schedule for completion should be emailed to lonoliver@mac.com. If accepted the grant award will be for $2,500.
- Songs, poems, or a short story celebrating the rich diversity of the people and places that are Appalachia. AMERC will published or link to the songs, poems, or short story on our webpage. A one-page double spaced abstract naming your idea and a schedule for completion should be emailed to lonoliver@mac.com. If accepted the grant award will be for $1,000.
- The Christian experience in Southern Appalachia. AMERC has long sought to embrace the rich theology and culture of faith in Southern Appalachia. From North-Eastern Mississippi to Sand Mountain Georgia we invite our consortium members to give attention faith of our Southernmost counties. AMERC will ask for a three-page or four page (750-1,000 word) article that will be published on AMERC’s webpage within 12 months of the grant. A one-page double spaced abstract naming your research idea and a schedule for completion should be emailed to lonoliver@mac.com. If accepted the grant award will be for $2,500.
- We would welcome your research ideas for research papers, stories, poems, images, or songs that celebrate the ecosystems, faith, culture, and peoples of Appalachia. A one-page double spaced abstract naming your research idea and a schedule for completion should be emailed to lonoliver@mac.com. We will contact you in order to explore grant opportunities.
Again, these proposals may be unique to these grants or a part or ongoing research or projects.
We have much work to do in honoring and celebrating the diversity of our beloved Appalachian Mountains. We are offing these grants in celebration of AMERC’s 36 years of resourcing theological education in the mountains.
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