Posted: Wed 11 Jun 2008 22:37 Post subject: Twelfth Union: A Melungeon Gathering June 27th & 28th, 2008
Quote:
Twelfth Union: A Melungeon Gathering
Twelfth Union: A Melungeon Gathering
Lincoln Memorial University
June 27th & 28th, 2008
MHA, in partnership with Lincoln Memorial University, will sponsor Twelfth Union: A Melungeon Gathering in Harrogate, TN (Cumberland Gap area). This year’s event topic is:
The Ongoing Struggle of the Legacy of Oppression.
You do not have to be of Melungeon descent to participate in this gathering; all who support the work of MHA are invited. Walk-ins are welcome.
The gathering will begin with an informal “Melungeon Mixer” on Thursday evening, June 26th, offering an opportunity for socializing and informal sharing. Friday and Saturday, June 27th and 28th, MHA will hold two full days of presentations, chat groups, storytelling and music. A wide selection of books on Melungeon and Appalachian history will also be available for purchase.
This gathering, with its theme, is especially significant. It will be held at a time when our nation is beginning to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. MHA views this opportunity, to honor mixed ancestry at Lincoln Memorial University, as noteworthy, considering Lincoln’s legacy of commitment to all people, regardless of race. This is also poignant since many consider Lincoln to have been of mixed ancestry, with possible ties to Melungeon related communities.
For more than 200 years, the mysterious mixed-ethnic people known as Melungeons, have been the subject of folklore, speculation, and occasionally, scientific inquiry in the southern Appalachian region. The Melungeons are one of an estimated 200 groups of Americans who were dubbed “tri-racial isolates” by one researcher in the 1950s. These groups have been considered a mixture of white, black, and Indian by both their neighbors and researchers, and have been the object of discrimination to varying degrees over the years. Melungeons have faced discrimination, both legal and social, because they did not fit into America’s accepted racial categories. Historical accounts of the Melungeons maintain that they claimed Portuguese and Indian ancestry.
Melungeon family tree branches connect with the wide array of ethnic groups that established the colonies, including English, Celtic, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Arabic, Jewish, Turkish, East Indian, African and others. In many cases, Melungeons who moved away from their Appalachian homes left behind not only poverty and limited opportunities, but their ethnic identity as well. Some scholars estimate as many as 50,000 to 100,000 Americans share this heritage to some degree.
MHA, formed in 1998, hosts a yearly gathering celebrating Melungeon heritage and supporting other mixed ancestry groups. While mixed-ethnic populations often face discrimination; in the past decade, they have been able to reclaim and celebrate their unique heritage. Through the work of the MHA, Melungeon descendents and others gather to celebrate the diversity of their mixed ancestry heritage. MHA has worked to break through the barriers of discrimination, oppression and lost family connections.
As MHA secretary, Ruth Webb - Duffy, says “This event offers the opportunity to share family histories, both oral and written, that have been kept secret for far too many generations. We hope to continue to shed some light on aspects of American history that have been overlooked.” MHA encourages folks to bring musical instruments, family bibles, pictures, and stories to this event. The event has a casual picnic/family reunion atmosphere with academic presentations. There will also be evening gatherings on the lawn (weather permitting) to chat, play music and share.
Presenters will include authors Elizabeth Hirschmann and Lisa Alther. Historians Ron Bryant and Frank Sweet will be there along with LMU’s own Earl Hess, and the Vardy Community Historical Society. Native American researcher, Dr. James Nickens and Melungeon researcher, Dr. Terry Mullins will also be lecturing. Dr. James Gifford, from the Jesse Stuart Foundation, will do a presentation on the Daughter of The Legend novel that has real connections with LMU and the Melungeon story. An historical look at the continuing custom of grave houses will be presented by Anthony Kirk. Informal chats and presentations are promised by Melungeon elders and researchers, Johnnie Rhea and Dr. Irene Wright.
Redbone Heritage Foundation President, Stacy Webb, along with RHF Board member and Native American, Gabe Gabeheart will make presentations. K. Paul Johnson, author of Pell Mellers and Todd Beckham, researcher and filmmaker, will focus on their North Carolina connections.
Dr. Elmer Maggard, a psychologist and group dynamics specialist, will present the keynote address focusing on the legacy of oppression.
Music will be provided by Randy Williams (including his song of the Melungeons 'This is Where We'll Stay') and his friends as well as Frank and Mary Sweet. Storyteller, Larry Thacker, will entertain and educate in the historic oral tradition.
Julie Williams Dixon will present two showings of her highly acclaimed film, Melungeon Voices which premiered at last year’s MHA gathering; this film was possible through the contributions of many researchers. It was recently accepted into the Tupelo Film Festival, and was chosen by a film critic out of Oxford, MS as one of her top five favorites from the entire festival.
Also returning will be N. Brent Kennedy author of The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People. Kennedy is credited with the birth of the Melungeon Movement and is a founding member of the MHA. Kennedy’s work, with the assistance of his wife, Robyn, helped awaken a sleeping population of mixed ancestry people.
Posted: Wed 11 Jun 2008 23:12 Post subject: Re: Twelfth Union: A Melungeon Gathering June 27th & 28th, 2008
Twelfth Union: A Melungeon Gathering wrote:
Music will be provided by Randy Williams (including his song of the Melungeons 'This is Where We'll Stay') and his friends as well as Frank and Mary Sweet.
I honestly feared that this Melungeon "civil war" would put an end to the "Unions." The dissent group has formed a new organization limited to those who can document their Melungeon ancestry.
There are people who actually admit to being Mulungeon? Growing up as a member of another "tri-racial isolate" it was seen as something to deny, not to admit to. I was under the impression that they were a historical group, but had assimilated into the mainstream and no longer had an existing population. Extinct, in other words.
Posted: Thu 19 Jun 2008 03:15 Post subject: Melungeons
Luna wrote:
There are people who actually admit to being Mulungeon? Growing up as a member of another "tri-racial isolate" it was seen as something to deny, not to admit to. I was under the impression that they were a historical group, but had assimilated into the mainstream and no longer had an existing population. Extinct, in other words.
I've spoken at two Melungeon gatherings and one Redbone conference. Frank has spoken at more. They are very much alive.
Posted: Thu 19 Jun 2008 03:18 Post subject: Re: Twelfth Union: A Melungeon Gathering June 27th & 28th, 2008
fwsweet wrote:
Twelfth Union: A Melungeon Gathering wrote:
Music will be provided by Randy Williams (including his song of the Melungeons 'This is Where We'll Stay') and his friends as well as Frank and Mary Sweet.
This is the first we have heard of this.
The previous Unions were announced months in advance. I wish I could attend this one, but it was announced VERY late and the "civil war" within the Melungeon community made it appear that one might not be held this year if ever.
Posted: Sat 05 Jul 2008 15:35 Post subject: Re: Melungeons
Richard Miller wrote:
Powell wrote:
I've spoken at two Melungeon gatherings and one Redbone conference. Frank has spoken at more. They are very much alive.
Do you plan on speaking at anymore Redbone conferences? I'm not too far from the Piney Woods, and I think it'd be awesome!
I don't know yet. Perhaps Frank or K. Paul knows when the next Melungeon and Redbone Conferences will take place since they attended 12th Union. I didn't attend the last one because there was very little notice and no time to financially prepare. This delay was apparently caused by internal conflict within the Melungeon community.
Posted: Sat 05 Jul 2008 15:44 Post subject: Re: Melungeons
Powell wrote:
Perhaps Frank or K. Paul knows when the next Melungeon and Redbone Conferences will take place
The next Melungeon conference will be the last weekend in June at the Chief Logan Lodge Hotel and Conference Center, on US 119 between Logan and Chapmanville WV.
The next Redbone conference will probably be in September in Nacogdoches, TX, but they are still working out the date and site.
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