Why BLAC
Why BLAC
“Now is the time for our truth to be told. Now is the time to recognize that Black people have always been a part of the fabric of this country. If you want to heal the soul of this nation, you’ve got to hear the story of Black people.”
– Archbishop Marcia Dinkins, PhD
Our Impact
BLAC provides a platform where Black residents are seen and heard as leaders, credible messengers and experts. By changing the narrative, we can begin to change the power structure of the region and confront the discriminatory practices which left Black Appalachians with fewer opportunities than their white neighbors.
Through listening sessions, we help to shape how policymakers create and implement inclusive policies. We don’t just identify policy needs for Black communities in Appalachia—including increased access to healthcare, healthy foods, child and elder care, public transportation, clean air and water, quality education, jobs, higher pay, and criminal justice reform—we advocate for them.
Our Future Story
By sharing stories, amplifying voices, and pushing for reforms, we can move from hopelessness to hope.
Our goal is to build a healthier, brighter future for all. At BLAC, we believe we are more than victims of racism and environmental injustice.
We are protectors of health as a human right. We are the storytellers, visionaries, drivers of change, and proponents of true solutions for Appalachians
Our Theory of Change
Suppose we name and confront the systems of oppression: political, social, economic, cultural, and environmental that have long divested from, harmed, and marginalized Black, poor, and disenfranchised communities across Appalachia and the Ohio River Basin, and honor those most impacted not just for their lived experiences but for their wisdom, strength, and power. In that case, we can build the collective capacity necessary to reclaim our future, shift policy, and transform unjust systems into ones rooted in justice, care, and liberation.
We recognize that these systems were never designed for equity, justice, or equality, but to uphold patriarchal, white supremacist, and extractive ideologies through structural neglect, systemic violence, and political exclusion. Storytelling is not simply a tool of reflection; it is a strategy of resistance and a BLACprint for redesign, it is a model rooted in justice, memory, and power.
When communities historically harmed by these systems are at the center of solutions, not as case studies but as strategists, leaders, and visionaries, real and lasting change becomes possible. We believe we must move beyond frameworks of despair and performative hope to build a future rooted in truth, power, and possibility where Black communities shape their solutions, story, legacy, and liberation.
We also believe Black women’s leadership is not only essential but transformative. It offers a generational, intersectional, and visionary lens that refuses to separate justice from care, policy from people, or strategy from soul. BLAC’s model is built on the power of Black women to name truth, lead movements, and reimagine systems that center humanity, healing, and wholeness.
Black Stories Matter
Just as the banjo played a critical role in the development of modern music, Black residents play a significant part in shaping the culture and the conversations of Appalachia and beyond.
The Black Appalachian Coalition provides a platform where Black residents are seen and heard as leaders, credible messengers, and experts. By changing the narrative, we can begin to change the power structure of the region and confront the discriminatory practices which left Black Appalachians with fewer opportunities than their white neighbors.
Invest in Our Mission
By supporting BLAC, you help to amplify Black voices, dismantle the white-washed colonized narrative of Appalachia, and ensure that accurate accounts of Black people’s contributions are told. Join us to drive solutions that center the voices and lived experiences of Black Appalachians for racial and environmental justice and equity.
