By Rebecca Stern for The Daily Yonder.
Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan for West Virginia News Service for the Public News Service/Daily Yonder Collaboration

In the halls of Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College during the day, and on the grounds of Cowan Community Center at night, the Cowan Creek Mountain Music School [CCMMS], referred to by staff and participants as "Cowan," did more than just celebrate Appalachian music.

After two years of Covid-19 prevented a safe in-person learning experience, Cowan returned, this time with a renewed commitment to diversity and inclusion. The overall structure of the program has not changed. It features morning classes, with students ranging from kids to older adults, that are taught in a call and response style, rather than with written music. Lyrics are not googled. For tunes like "Groundhog," the beginner class created their own lyrics or got them from another staff member. Every afternoon, there are masters concerts, jam sessions, and workshops like beginning flat foot dancing and Old Regular Baptist line singing. At night, there are outdoor faculty concerts and square dances.

A More Diverse, and Inclusive, Appalachian Music School

What made this year's iteration of the music school unique were the extra steps administration took to make the old time Appalachian music camp and community more inclusive of people not traditionally represented or talked about in Appalachian music.

Efforts included a workshop on breaking the silence around LGBTQ+ people in traditional Appalachian music; a faculty member - an immigrant to Kentucky from Ecuador - who taught Andean music and instrument-making; and a public recognition of all the tunes Cowan teaches from the Appalachian repertoire that have links to the African-American community. There were classes on the African origins of the banjo, and the school welcomed a primarily-female Latin Alternative group, LADAMA, whose ensemble included four women from four different countries.

"I absolutely think [Cowan] is where we get to build the Appalachia we want for everybody," said Larah Helayne, a 20-year-old queer, Appalachian musician and teacher's assistant for the beginner banjo class at CCMMS.

During a workshop on the lived experiences of some of the LGBTQ+ staff at Cowan, Helayne and two other panelists spoke and led the community in songs about being queer in Appalachia and queerness in Appalachian music. Panelists, including Helayne and Sue Massek, a member of Reel World String Band, which is sometimes called "Kentucky's feminist hillbilly band," opened-up conversation about feeling a need to hide queerness when performing, experiencing microaggressions, and the lack of public recognition for queer people in Appalachian music.

"You have to understand that marginalized people, Black people, queer people, Latinx people, and other people of color have always been in Appalachia," said Helayne. "We have always been here and we always will be, and we're not going anywhere."

The Importance of Community

Community is integral to Appalachian music. Several times throughout the camp, participants were reminded that this music was meant to be played together, in jams with other instruments, not solo. Helayne spoke about the joy of finding themselves at an all-queer jam at the Parkway Inn (a traditional night jam spot, given that the Parkway is where most participants and staff stay during the week).

LADAMA members also recognized the importance of community in Appalachian music, sharing translations for words like "jam" and "square dance" in their own languages.

Maria Fernanda Gonzalez, a member of LADAMA from Venezuela, explained that "for us, it's important to come here to find the connections and the bridge that we can build with music that's made around community."

Fernanda Gonzalez also addressed the lack of gender diversity in the music industry, an issue that exists across borders. "As a woman ensemble that creates music, as a collective...we are writing original music and that's still rare... It's important to talk about the diversity of the music industry," she said.

"No matter what country we're from, we're still facing challenges as women," added Daniela Serna, a member of LADAMA who is from Colombia.

Change Is a Process

Staff emphasized that there are other important steps Cowan must take for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Helayne named some things they would like to see, like more faculty of color and an endowed scholarship for students of color, as well as pronouns on name tags to avoid misgendering.

Executive director Carla Gover said that making these adjustments, and giving audiences and program participants a fuller picture of Appalachian music, is very important to Cowan. But these changes are not seamless and don't always come quickly in a community that puts so much emphasis on tradition.

"There were concerns expressed about how we should be a music school and not explore political issues, fears of attack from right wing groups that have made trouble for some other organizations in Eastern Kentucky of late, and a worry that some parents might not let their youth attend camp if we openly speak about LGBTQ+ issues," said Gover.

Ultimately, the CCMMS administration decided that because Appalachian music has always been political - from songs about coal mining unions, to tunes about environmental awareness by artists like Jean Ritchie - Cowan would continue to strive for more diversity, inclusivity, and cultural-historical context.

Gover added that this year's focus on diversity and inclusion doesn't supplant the school's original mission to center the living traditions of Kentucky artists and educators. Cowan is still committed to honoring this aim, especially because there is a long history of non-Appalachians teaching, explaining, and performing Appalachian music. At times this has led to misinformation, harmful stereotypes, and even cultural appropriation for financial gain, what Gover jokingly calls faking "holler cred."

"We want to make sure that 'Y'all are welcome' means 'All are welcome,' and that folks of all stripes and persuasions can feel that. Which sometimes means creating a space for tender or difficult conversations - bookended by songs, of course!" said Gover.

After all, at the end of the day, Cowan Creek Mountain Music School is really about the music.

Rebecca Stern wrote this article for The Daily Yonder.


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If not for the colonial postal system, newcomers to the frontier soon to be known as New Mexico would not have kept up with relatives to the south in Mexico or those overseas in Spain.

It is National Card and Letter Writing Month, designated by the U.S. Postal Service in 2001 as a way to honor and celebrate the efforts going into the mail service.

Callum Sharp is a writer and editor based in Vancouver, Canada. He penned a column on the subject for the Writing Cooperative, noting letter writing has been largely supplanted by digital technology, but letters are far more thought-provoking and personal than a text or email.

"I think a lot of people would like to get a real letter," Sharp contended. "I mean, it's a lost art form these days, because technology really has stopped us writing by hand. There's like a lot more thought that goes into writing a letter than sending a text."

Americans have lots of choice when it comes to sending packages, but only the U.S. Postal Service is responsible for the delivery of letters in the United States.

Sharp pointed out he regularly writes letters to his grandmother, and knows taking the time to stamp and post those letters can make them invaluable possessions. He added handwriting is one of the few things today which can be difficult to do with distraction, and instead, requires focus and attention.

"You have to sit down, you have to sort-of like think before you put your pen onto paper," Sharp outlined. "And there's just a lot more intention up front and a lot more, I think, love and care that goes into a message that you send to someone. And I think that can have a real impact on the relationship you manage to build."

Letters can be traced back to ancient India, Egypt, Rome, Greece, and China, primarily used to self-educate throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Sharp added he keeps a couple typewriters for the purpose of letter writing, which has other perks.

"So, one of the joys of it is being able to go to the stationery store, and being able to buy nice paper and buy a new pen every once in a while, or pick up another typewriter," Sharp explained. "That's all part and parcel of the experience of writing correspondence."


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April is the fifth annual Arts, Culture and Creativity Month in California, and advocates for the arts are promoting diversity in the arts workforce and celebrating recent policy wins.

In Los Angeles, the County Board of Supervisors just voted to join Arts for LA's Creative Jobs Collective Impact Initiative, which aims to create 10,000 living-wage jobs in the state's creative sector by the year 2030.

Gustavo Herrera, CEO of Arts for LA, said the idea is to rebuild the arts economy after COVID.

"We really are focusing on centering youth and adults from historically underrepresented communities," Herrera explained. "Here in Los Angeles, approximately 59%, or nearly three-fifths of our arts workforce, currently self-identify as white."

The collective's steering committee is putting together recommendations on legislation, budget investments, joint programming, data/accountability, and collective communication efforts - and will report back to the Board in October. Find out more about arts advocacy at 'ArtsforLA.org.'

Meanwhile, artists, advocates and policymakers are gathering in Sacramento for an Arts and Culture Summit on April 17, followed by a rally and meetings with lawmakers on April 18.

Herrera emphasized April is the perfect time to get involved.

"It's so important that we have a strong community of advocates, really pushing for arts and culture in every community," Herrera urged. "And then also, to just go out and experience the arts and celebrate all of the creativity across the state."

The summit will celebrate recent policy wins for the arts sector, including the passage of Prop 28 last year, which will direct millions more per year toward arts education.

An upcoming event in Raleigh hosted in part by William Peace University aims to bring hip-hop arts culture to North Carolina's college students.

The Hip Hop Higher Ed Symposium includes breakout sessions led by local and national scholars, artists and emcees. Executive Director of Aspire2Higher Personal and Professional Development Consulting, Stephanie Reed is the symposium's creator.

She explained that, while most people might be familiar with hip hop as a music genre, it's more recently been analyzed from an academic and cultural standpoint.

"Looking at some of the anthropological components of the culture itself," said Reed, "and really studying how the culture has impacted and informs the lives of many different types of people."

Hosted by radio DJ Miriam Tolbert of Carolina Waves, the symposium will delve into hip hop's role as a vehicle for education, its relationship to racial justice, and it's impact on different communities.

Tickets can be reserved online.

Reed encouraged those who aren't consumers of hip hop to join the community event.

"People - even if they aren't necessarily true, hip hop fans - should come for the educational component and the community organizing and community engagement piece," said Reed. "And I think they'll find value in just discussing and fellowshipping with other North Carolinians."

Across the nation, more educators are using hip hop culture in the classroom to help students explore society, race, geography, politics, and other topics.




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