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Bethany Hicks

African American History in Boone Hits Bookshelves


Several members of the faculty and staff at Watauga High School can say they have spent a lifetime in the Boone area. Biology teacher Ms. Alana Patterson is one of those individuals, and the story of her involvement in Watauga County can now be read in Junaluska: Oral Histories of a Black Appalachian Community, a project that will now serve as the medium through which an essential piece of local history is told.


Junaluska: Oral Histories of a Black Appalachian Community is a literary product of the collective efforts of the Junaluska Heritage Association and Appalachian State University’s Appalachian Studies Department to communicate the personal histories of African Americans in Watauga County. The book was published June 12 of this year, but the project has spanned over three decades.


Patterson was a prime candidate for a book focused on the telling of life in Junaluska and the larger setting of Watauga County. Patterson described, “In the book, I was asked to speak on my upbringing as an African American in the predominantly white Watauga County. Even as a minority, I have been deeply rooted in the community for most of my life. In short, I was born and raised here in Boone, NC. I attended Hardin Park and graduated from Watauga High School in 2012. From there, I went to App State to study Biology with a concentration in secondary education.”


Participating in various community opportunities throughout her childhood and years in school, working at both Tweetsie Railroad and Studio K and teaching at the high school from which she graduated, Patterson was one community member who was able to offer a picture of what it was like to grow up in Boone. The story of Junaluska goes far past one individual, though. Through the book, readers now have the opportunity to experience local history as told by various members of the Junaluska community, a section of Boone with deep historical significance.


Originally called “the Hill” or “the Mountain” by Boone residents, Junaluska became the primary African American neighborhood in Watauga County by the latter 1800s. Two African American freemen, Ellington and Johnson Cuzzins—thought to be the first, or among the first, Black people to settle in the area—established themselves in Boone in the 1850s, according to the Junaluska Heritage Association. This local organization also describes that in the early 1900s, most members of the community farmed, while women could find domestic work in hotels and young men were hired by the Civilian Conservation Corps, established as a part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.


In addition, the Junaluska Heritage Association notes that the Junaluska community came to be a thriving part of the larger Boone area, forming a baseball team, hosting businesses such as the Chocolate Bar, engaging with the local campus and more during the 20th century. However, Junaluska was a racially separate and distinct part of Boone, restricted in activities by legal segregation. As related on the Junaluska Heritage Association website, it was after desegregation when the community was finally called “Junaluska.” The neighborhood has witnessed a thoroughly dynamic past and now serves as a representative sample of broader historical trends.

Dr. Susan Keefe, a professor in ASU’s Anthropology Department, has worked on various projects regarding the Junaluska community over the last 30 years, and she served as the editor for Junaluska: Oral Histories of a Black Appalachian Community. Dr. Keefe said of the project, “There is little information about the lives of African Americans in Appalachia. The 36 narrators in this book were born between 1885 and 1993, so the reader comes to know the experience of Black residents in Boone over more than one hundred years from segregation and Jim Crow to the Civil Rights Movement and integration to the era of Black Lives Matter today.”


As such a large span of time was captured in the book, Dr. Keefe and other collaborators were able to create a longitudinal review of Junaluska’s history. Thus, the possibility existed to capture the experiences of several generations, and for Patterson, that occurred within her family.


Patterson said, “The Junaluska community is unique in that we are all connected in some way. Genetically I am related to most, if not all, of the contributors to the book. In terms of radial family members, my mother and grandmother were also contributors. The Junaluska Heritage Association was founded by a few community members including my grandmother…. I was beyond excited to work on a project with my family to help tell the rich history of this community.”


Family, connectedness and history are certainly all central to the Junaluska community and the book, as Patterson describes it as “a colorful historic tapestry.” Especially because it is local history, the novel has powerful potential for Watauga County readers.


On that point, Dr. Keefe remarked, “The book makes clear that Junaluskans have made many contributions to Boone and Watauga County (especially the other Black communities in Beaverdam and Vilas). They have helped local farmers work their land, labored in local businesses, cleaned homes and offices, served in local government and the police force, taught in local schools, and provided health care in our clinics and hospitals. Their contributions give us a fuller understanding of life in the mountains.”


Asked if she would recommend the book to high schoolers, Patterson responded, “I would greatly recommend this book. Not only does this book tell stories from our community, but the stories represent a minority group that gives a different perspective of life here in Watauga County. Once you open your eyes to a variety of narratives, you will be able to develop a more complete picture of what Watauga County is.”


Patterson’s mother, Ms. Lynn Patterson, concurred, saying, “We are hopeful that everyone will read our book and hear our experience growing up in the high country. Our Junaluska community is unique, special and different than every other community of color in North Carolina. We are proud of the contributions we made to Watauga County and the Boone community.”


In addition, readers have a unique opportunity to supplement this literature with experience in the primary setting of the book. Junaluska Heritage Association is a local organization which supports the preservation of history and the continuation of this flourishing African American community in Watauga County. The Association has a close partnership with other institutions in the Boone community, most notably the Boone Mennonite Brethren Church, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and Appalachian State University. The Junaluska Heritage Association also contributed largely to the book, and today it continues to celebrate the community’s past and future among all ages of residents.


The education of readers is an important goal of this book, allowing all Watauga residents to celebrate the Junaluska story. When asked what the book has taught her, Lynn Patterson said, “I learned that we are a resilient community and we have been here for a long, long time. I want the others to know we are here and what we contributed to Boone to make it a place that we all love and call home. Hopefully we will continue to be a vital part of Boone and the North Carolina High Country.”


Familiar with the neighborhood of Junaluska or not, Junaluska: Oral Histories of a Black Appalachian Community could be impactful in developing a more full and intricate picture of local history among the people of Watauga County.


Patterson concluded, “This year, our nation has seen a push for understanding and tolerance amongst our citizens. Now more than ever it is pertinent that the stories of those who are underrepresented are shared and analyzed by those who hold power. I can only hope that this book makes a positive impact on the history and literature of Boone by adding depth and new perspectives on the rich history of this area.”


Written by: Bethany Hicks


Image obtained from Amazon.com, where the book can be purchased (alongside other online shopping sites).


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