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November Newsletter 2019: Report Back from SMA 8 and Black Appalachian Young & Rising

11/29/2019

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Report Back from Black Appalachian Young & Rising!

Black Youth Advisory Committee: A'Nya Badger, Nina Morgan, Sydney Underwood, Geonoah Davis, Trey Lomax, & Mekyah Davis

In early November, Black youth from throughout the Appalachian region came together for the region’s first gathering specifically for black youth. The historic 2019 Black Appalachian Young and Rising Gathering brought youth together to examine the Black Appalachian identity, and build meaningful connections. Most importantly though, we began a strategic process of implementing a call to action to STAY and other organizations in the region to address the critical lack of black youth leadership. It was a beautiful, powerful weekend with lots of laughter, learning, growth, and genuine black joy. We look forward to providing y'all with a full report back from the gathering in the coming weeks with recommendations for how STAY and other organizations can continue to uplift and support Black youth leadership in our organization and throughout Appalachia.

We opened up with a powerful session on Friday by grounding ourselves in some of the rich history of black folks in the Appalachian region. We were honored with invaluable contributions by Charice Starr, our consultant for the gathering, Joe Tolbert, Elandria Williams, Dr. William H. Turner, and Ron Carson. Our guests spoke on issues ranging from the history of black folks in the region as a whole to how the Black Appalachian Young and Rising gathering was in part made possible by folks who started STAY 10 years ago. We opened up Saturday with singing together and our land acknowledgment on the history of the Pine Mountain Settlement School. We spent a long time setting up our learning container and setting the tone for what we were there to do and how we were going to interact with each other throughout the weekend. This session included a reviewed of Principled Struggles and Mocktails, an exercise where black youth were able to practice active listening and talking. This proved to be one of the most valuable parts of the weekend as we were able to watch people begin to come out of their shells and step into their subjective expertise and realize they knew more than they give themselves credit for. We spent the evening leading up to lunch mapping our landscape and resources from communities. Saturday night we had a “BONDFire” where we roasted s’mores and built community over spoken word, rap battles, and general conversation while sitting around the fire. We finished up the weekend Sunday with one morning session that included, identifying the issues, our collective visioning, and action steps we can take to address the lack of black youth leadership in our region. It was an indescribable experience to be able to be surrounded by dozens of fellow black youth from throughout the region in an autonomous space designed for and by us. It was also a wake up call to how powerful and necessary it is to create space for specifically for black youth.

Love & solidarity,

Mekyah Davis

Donate to support Black Futures in Appalachia

From Appalachia to Mississippi: The STAY Project goes to the Southern Movement Assembly

Dear STAY Project Family,

We are reporting back from Southern Movement Assembly 8 to say that the Southern People's Freedom Movement is alive and thriving and Appalachia is here for it! Last week, 11 young people from Appalachia traveled as a STAY Project delegation to Hazlehurst, Mississippi in order to participate in a collective governing process that laid out a Southern People's Action plan for how we are going to protect and defend our people, build new social economies, and create people's democracy in 2020. From our pipeline resisters in the Shenandoah valley to our Southern Appalachia crew with the Magic City Youth Initiative– Appalachia showed up in force at the Southern Movement Assembly to build and deepen our relationships with people across the Global South–– including Puerto Rico, Congo, & Senegal.

We are so ready for what STAY can bring to Appalachia and the South in 2020! First though, we are going to rest up and heal from the virus we all shared after traveling for 20 hours in a van together, but then we are gonna get to getting free!

solidarity & kinship,

The STAY Project staff & steering committee

"Nobody's free 'til everybody's free" - Fannie Lou Hamer

Upcoming STAY Project Events & Calls to Action!

We are now accepting submissions for an Appalacian Love Story Zine from young people aged 30 & under who are living in Appalachia!

Theme for the Zine is: Love (not just the romantic kind), home, community, resistance, liberation, and being young in the mountains.

We are accepting: poetry, short stories, propaganda, photography, collages, drawings, paintings, etc...

Submissions are due on Jan 3rd. Please send to stayproject@gmail.com with the subject line "zine submission"

Announcing Appalachian Love Fest: a music festival, artist and organizational showcase, and Appalachian Love Week event celebrating everything we love about Appalachia! Share the love, bring a date, find love, and save the date for February 15, 2020! Got a favorite local musician, artist friend, or rad organization you'd like to see at the fest? Let us know by filling out this short form!

Regional Happenings

Southern Connected Communities Project has opened a Cyber Cafe in the Clearfork Valley!

Need to print something? Have research to do? Want to scroll the internet? Need to submit an application? Have a paper to write?
Come see us at Clearfork Community Institute (the old Eagan School)
Free services available; Scan, copy, print, and laptops

Staff available for basic computer assistance

Coffee, lattes, cappuccino and snacks will be sold

Beginning August 6, 2019 hours will be Tuesdays and Thursdays

9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Call 423-784-0095 for more information

Get Involved with The STAY Project!

Join our Appalachian Youth Movement!

Wanna join the STAY Project? We’ve added a membership form to our website! If you are between the ages of 14-30 and living in Appalachia and want to be a member of the STAY Project, head on over to our membership page and fill out the form.

If you are a current member go ahead and fill out the form to update your information.

Be a part of a movement for youth and by youth that is working towards a just, sustainable, and equitable Appalachia!

Did y'all hear that STAY is now offering financial support to members who are organizing projects/events in their communities? We are able to offer up to $200 to support members’ projects that align with our mission and core beliefs. Specifically, we are hoping to support projects/events that further STAY’s work of providing space for young Appalachians to gather, learn with/from, create, and work together. To learn more and to request support, fill out this form!

When you give to the STAY Project you are nourishing a grassroots movement by youth and for youth in Appalachia. We could not do our work without the support of a community that believes in us. Thank you for believing in us!

Donate to the STAY Project!

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September Newsletter

11/29/2019

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Dear STAY Project family,

Happy fall!

First off, we are thrilled to introduce y'all to our newest members of the STAY Project steering committee! With Ari Baker and Katelyn Damron finishing out their terms on the steering committee in November we are excited to welcome our newest steering committee members– Brad Harris, Nina Morgan, and Sav Miles who were elected to the steering committee by STAY Project members in August!

Earlier this month the steering committee gathered at High Rocks Academy in Hillsboro, WV to reflect on the STAY Summer Institute and develop an action plan for 2020. We kicked off the weekend meeting and sharing a meal with other young people from Pocahontas County at our first "STAY for Dinner" potluck at the Yew Mountain Center. The Yew Mountain Center was awesome and it was so great to meet so many cool Hillsboro folks! The rest of the weekend was spent deepening our relationships with one another, making meals together, working hard on our vision and goals for the next year, and identifying next steps. Our meeting would not have been possible without having place to meet so we want to say a big thank you to High Rocks for letting us use their beautiful space!

Finally, the registration for the Black Appalachian Young and Rising Gathering is now open!! If you are a young Black person between the ages of 14-30 who lives in Appalachia, make sure you get registered for this event that is designed by Black Appalachian youth for Black Appalachian youth! Learn more about and register for Black Appalachian Young and Rising here.

Coming up this fall we have a lot going on, be sure to check out our calendar so you don't miss out on anything!

solidarity & kinship,

The STAY Project staff & steering committee

Upcoming STAY Project Events!

Y'all ready to shoot some hoops for a cause? Then join us on October 12th at Appalachia High School in Appalachia, VA for the 2019 STAY Fall Classic Benefit Basketball Tournament! This fundraiser for the Black Appalachian Young and Rising Gathering starts at 9:00am and you can register a team for the tournament online here or you can also sign up the day of! Facebook event page is here .

We are excited to announce the first Black Appalachian Young and Rising Gathering November 8th-10th at the Pine Mountain Settlement School in Pine Mountain, KY. We hope you can join us for what promises to be a weekend full of fun, friendship, collective learning and growth. Registration will close Sunday, October 27th with a maximum of 60 attendees. Register here: http://bit.ly/blackappalachianyouth. If you have any questions about the gathering please feel free to reach out to Mekyah Davis at mekyahdavis.stayproject@gmail.com

***This event is a free event only for Black youth between the ages of 14-30 from throughout the Central and Southern Appalachian region- if you have any questions about this please feel free to reach out to us at stayproject@gmail.com**

There is a $10,000 goal to cover the event and to pay the Black youth who are doing the work to make it happen. STAY is asking you to invest in this important work by making a donation today.

Donate to support Black Futures in Appalachia

In a time of crisis . . . ORGANIZE TO RESIST & BUILD
You are already part of a growing movement force in the South, and we are proud to be connected to you and your community. Join the Southern Movement Assembly in 2019

We have gathered 7 times in the last 7 years. We come together to build connections, break isolation, analyze the situations we are facing, and create visions and strategies for liberation. The SMA8 is the eighth regional assembly since 2012, and we are excited to be anchored in Mississippi by Alternate ROOTS, Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative, Sipp Culture Center, and partners across the Deep South.

For more information or to register for SMA 8 visit http://southtosouth.org/sma8/

Regional Happenings

October 12th is the 2nd Annual Pikeville Pride--a day full of inclusion, affirmation, and lots of rainbows! Live music, drag entertainment, vendors, dancing, face painting, free hugs, free food, and so much more!

Parking is available in downtown Pikeville on the street and in the parking garage located directly beside the city park.

Join Appalachians Against Pipelines and the RAMPS Campaign for a weekend of workshops, discussions, storytelling and community as we celebrate the changing of the leaves at the beautiful Stanley Heirs Park on the edge of destruction. Appalachian organizers, community members, and college students will be camping together atop a protected mountaintop, surrounded by mountaintop removal mining, to share stories and skills and build community.

We will discuss issues affecting Appalachian communities including mountaintop removal, pipelines, fracking, water, health, drug addiction, mass incarceration, colonization, local plants, direct action, community organizing, and more. This year, we're also excited to focus on the ongoing resistance to pipelines in Appalachia, including to the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines — come on out to learn how all these struggles are connected!

So come learn, share, meet likeminded people, camp, and have a good time! Food will be provided starting with dinner on Friday, all meals on Saturday and Sunday, and breakfast on Monday. Facebook event ishere.

Southern Connected Communities Project has opened a Cyber Cafe in the Clearfork Valley!

Staff available for basic computer assistance

Coffee, lattes, cappuccino and snacks will be sold

Beginning August 6, 2019 hours will be Tuesdays and Thursdays

9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Call 423-784-0095 for more information

Be a STAY Project Member!

Wanna join the STAY Project? We’ve added a membership form to our website! If you are between the ages of 14-30 and living in Appalachia and want to be a member of the STAY Project, head on over to our membership page and fill out the form.

If you are a current member go ahead and fill out the form to update your information.

Come be a part of the movement for youth and by youth that is working towards a just, sustainable, and equitable Appalachia!

Donate to the STAY Project!

Forward

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November Newsletter 2019: Report Back from SMA 8 and Black Appalachian Young & Rising

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