2025 Black Appalachian Storytellers Fellows
- DeWayne Barton: Buncombe, North Carolina
- Hasan Davis: Madison County, Kentucky
- Doris “Lady D” Fields: Raleigh County, West Virginia
- Trevellya “Tee” Ford-Ahmed: Athens, Ohio
- Naomi Hodge Muse: Martinsville, Virginia
- Jazmine LeBlanc: Hamilton County, Tennessee
The 2025 Fellows will be honored at the 43rd annual “In The Tradition…” National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference in Atlanta, GA, November 19-23. They are also invited to present at the 2026 Festival and Conference. Each Fellow will receive a physical award created by Virginia gourd carver and instrument maker Dr. Dena Jennings.
2024 Black Appalachian Storytellers Fellows
- Beverly Fields Burnette, Buncombe, Polk, and Burke Counties, North Carolina
Performer, author, poet, Founder and President of the North Carolina Association of Black Storytellers - Janice Lynn Cooley, Greenbriar County, West Virginia
Historian, researcher, exhibit curator - Omope “Mama O” Carter Daboiku, Lawrence County, Ohio, and Wise County, Virginia
Author, performer, teaching artist, historian, quilter - Jim Embry, Madison County, Kentucky
Social and environmental justice advocate, agrarian, performer, cultural organizer - Eric “Monstalung” Jordan, Fayette and Monongalia Counties, West Virginia
Recording artist, performer, hip hop producer, teaching artist, Creative Director of the Norman Jordan African American Arts & Heritage Academy, Program Coordinator for the West Virginia University Center for Black Culture - Felecia “Sista’ Felecity LUV” Outsey, Knox County, Tennessee
Interpretive dancer, author, motivational poet, cultural organizer, arts activist
The 2024 Fellows were honored at the 42nd annual “In The Tradition…” National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference in Buffalo, NY, October 23 – 25. They were also invited to present at the 2025 Festival and Conference. Each Fellow received a physical award created by Virginia gourd carver and instrument maker Dr. Dena Jennings.
2023 Black Appalachian Storytellers Fellows
- Andrew Baskin: Madison County, Kentucky
- Lyn Ford: Columbiana County, Ohio
- Kelle Jolly: Knox County, Tennessee
- Aristotle Jones: Cabell and Monongalia Counties, West Virginia
- Ronnie W. Pepper: Henderson County, North Carolina
- L. Renée: Tazewell County, Virginia
Read more about the 2023 Fellows here. Each 2023 Fellow received a unique physical award created by Virginia gourd carver and instrument maker Dr. Dena Jennings.
2022 Black Appalachian Storytellers Fellows
- David Butcher: Athens County, Ohio
- Raymond Christian: Watauga County, North Carolina
- Ruby Daniels: Raleigh County, West Virginia
- Crystal Good: Kanawha County, West Virginia
- James “Sparky” Rucker: Blount County, Tennessee
- Alicestyne Turley: Powell County, Kentucky
Each 2022 Fellow received a unique physical award created by artist Harlan Mack.