In my last post, I gave a super brief overview of what Appalachia is-- a place, a culture, an identity, and more. But did you know it's also home to a growing youth movement that's entering its second generation? Here are some of the organizations and events behind this movement that's been working to change the region for over 30 years.
The Appalachian Media Institute and the birth of a movement
Of course young folks have been doing dope things in Appalachia for all of history, but one moment deserves special attention: the formation of the Appalachian Media Institute (AMI). AMI is the child of the legendary Appalshop, which has been doing creative community and economic development in eastern Kentucky since 1969. Appalshop's primary tool for creating social change has always been media production, especially place-based documentary filmmaking, and AMI was founded to give youth access to the tools and techniques of the trade. But since it started in 1988, it's become much more.
The Boone Youth Drop-In Center, one of the newest incarnations of AMI's community-building legacy
Youth Bored is a great example of AMI's impact on Appalachian youth culture. As this AMI documentary from 2002 illustrates, Youth Bored was a DIY artspace and venue in AMI's hometown of Whitesburg, KY. It wasn't a specific product of AMI itself, but AMIers played a central role in organizing it, making it what it was, and leaving a lasting impact. The space hosted some of the biggest names in underground punk and hardcore, and gave birth to a creative punk culture that is still very much alive in the mountains.
Here's the secret to AMI's impact: In addition to documentary-making, the program teaches youth how to look at their community in a constructive way, and turns them onto the leadership skills and confidence-building necessary to make a difference in their community. Youth Bored is but one of many examples: last year, AMI youth organized a media campaign to raise awareness about the growing IV drug and HIV/AIDs epidemic facing Appalachia and much of rural America, and other AMI alums have gone on to found a groundbreaking e-learning platform, lead the development of key regional nonprofits, and more. When it comes to preparing Appalachian youth to make a positive impact on their communities, AMI is in a league of its own.
At the time of this post, AMI is concluding its 29th Summer Documentary Institute. If you want to support what they do, visit their Donate page here (sorry, I don't think they accept SBD yet)
The Highlander Center: an Old Giant with new direction
Another key player in Appalachia's youth movement that also happens to be in a league of its own is the Highlander Research and Education Center. Founded in Tennessee in 1932, Highlander has played a central role in many pivotal movements, especially including the American Civil Rights Movement and the Labor Movement more generally, as well as the Appalachian environmental movement and international labor and immigration movements. It's hard to pidgeonhole the role that Highlander plays, but I've heard it called a "movement halfway house," in that it constantly has a cast of justice-minded characters revolving in and out, constantly trying to figure out how to make the world a better place.
What's Highlander got to do with the Appalachian youth movement, you may ask? Its Seeds of Fire program is another foundational part of the movement's history. The program has been developing youth leaders and organizers across the Appalachian South for over 17 years by providing workshops and skill-building, as well as taking youth leaders on a tour to connect with people and organizations across the region who are actively making a difference.
Developing young leaders is a key strategy in Highlander's broader Appalachian efforts, and it has provided invaluable support to the Appalachian youth movement.
You can donate to the Highlander Center and support its work here. Again, no SBD... yet!
Bringing it together, building it out: High Rocks, STAY & more
In addition to the foundation of AMI in Kentucky in the late 80s and Seeds of Fire in Tennessee in the late 90s, West Virginia was also laying the foundation for the Appalachian youth movement. High Rocks was founded in the mountains of West Virginia in 1996, and was very much on the same wavelength as the other two youth development orgs. And with so much movement in such a concentrated area, Central Appalachia was ready for the birth of a broader movement. All it took was a spark to set things off.
That spark took the form of the 2008 Appalachian Studies Conference. The legend that's been passed down to me goes that there was a panel about Appalachia's youth movement, but it was populated with old people who were talking about it from the outside. Youth members of AMI, High Rocks, and Highlander, who had experienced the empowerment of these programs were in the audience. Feeling that their voices weren't being heard and that they weren't being presented with opportunities to get involved in regional change efforts, they stormed out.
And thus the Stay Together Appalachian Youth (STAY) Project was born. That's the creation myth that's been passed down to me of the organization I've had the honor of serving as a steering committee member for two years. STAY is a regional youth network that provides skillbuilding and coordination among the members of its founding organizations--AMI, High Rocks, and Highlander--as well as other youth in Central Appalachia. Its main program is the STAY Summer Institute, an annual youth gathering where young folks lead workshops, share stories & skills, and celebrate being young in Appalachia. You can think of it as summer camp for all the rad people in all the rad organizations doing good work across Appalachia. And, significantly, STAY is hosted by the Highlander Center-- another way the movement orbits around that legendary place.
A STAY workshop at the Appalachian Studies Conference in 2016
STAY may have quite a story behind it, but it's far from the only dope youth organization that's been born from the Appalachian youth movement. You've also got Young Appalachian Leaders and Learners (Y'ALL), a committee of the Appalachian Studies Association organization (whose gathering ironically led to the foundation of STAY back in '08), as well as Higher Ground, a community theater initiative that's specialized in creative youth development and host of Its Good 2 Be Young In The Mountains, and the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition (KSEC), which has built an impressive and impactful network across Kentucky.
Each one of these orgs deserves a post to itself about all the meaningful ways its making a difference in the lives of young Appalachians and, by extension, the region as a whole. However, I am not the person to write that post. What's next for the movement is for people younger than me to decide. My goal is only to put this movement and the progress it's made on your radar now, so that you'll understand the roots of Appalachia's progress in the years to come. If you look closely enough at success stories from the region, I bet you'll find connections to these organizations and the leaders they've developed.
a dope pic from the first IG2BYITM from their website