FROM AFRICA TO APPALACHIA TO AFRICA, AGAIN!
Diversity Serves does work not only locally and globally, but regionally as well! For over 30 years Susan Mead has been traveling throughout central Appalachia, especially in the coalfield region of southwest Virginia, southern West Virginia, and eastern Kentucky, to learn about—and definitely from--the strong and resilient people in this beautiful mountain region of ours. For more than 20 years, Susan has taken students on van trips, ranging from 3 to 10 days, visiting communities, participating in service projects, enjoying the flora and the fauna, experiencing sacred and secular moments of awe, and marveling at the triumphs and challenges that are embodied in the many stories of Appalachia.
Diversity Serves is eager to offer these same types of trips to schools, churches, community groups of all ages (as long as chaperones come along with youth and college groups!). We know places to stay, trails to walk, vistas to see, museums to muse in, community leaders to learn from, music and storytelling to listen to, and spiritual spaces for quietude. We are ready to explore Appalachia with YOU!!
One very important aspect of Diversity Serves is “Connecting Diverse Communities.” What in the world does Africa have to do with Appalachia? Well, how do you think we became blessed to such a culturally diverse region for which Frank X Walker coined the word “Affrilachia,” now in the Oxford American Dictionary? And, of course, from where did our Affrilachian sisters and brothers come? We cannot tell you how exciting it was to take Appalachian stories and picture books to South Sudan, so that the children there could see characters in the stories set in mountains so far away in Appalachia, but who look just like them!!! Susan Mead learned Dinka words and the kids learned English words by learning the stories of John Henry and Booker T Washington and Mirandy—all from Appalachian picture books with African American characters. And those books found homes right there in South Sudan and Kenya! Really, there wasn’t as much difference as you’d think. Check out these pictures below and you’ll understand why!
Diversity Serves is eager to offer these same types of trips to schools, churches, community groups of all ages (as long as chaperones come along with youth and college groups!). We know places to stay, trails to walk, vistas to see, museums to muse in, community leaders to learn from, music and storytelling to listen to, and spiritual spaces for quietude. We are ready to explore Appalachia with YOU!!
One very important aspect of Diversity Serves is “Connecting Diverse Communities.” What in the world does Africa have to do with Appalachia? Well, how do you think we became blessed to such a culturally diverse region for which Frank X Walker coined the word “Affrilachia,” now in the Oxford American Dictionary? And, of course, from where did our Affrilachian sisters and brothers come? We cannot tell you how exciting it was to take Appalachian stories and picture books to South Sudan, so that the children there could see characters in the stories set in mountains so far away in Appalachia, but who look just like them!!! Susan Mead learned Dinka words and the kids learned English words by learning the stories of John Henry and Booker T Washington and Mirandy—all from Appalachian picture books with African American characters. And those books found homes right there in South Sudan and Kenya! Really, there wasn’t as much difference as you’d think. Check out these pictures below and you’ll understand why!