Melungeon Voices

Our guest for Episode 9 is Dr. Terry Mullins. This year’s Melungeon Heritage Association’s Union/conference will be in Tazewell, Virginia on June 26th and 27th. Dr. Mullins will be sharing with us the important role that Tazewell, Virginia played in the American Revolution, and its connections to the Melungeon people. Dr. Terry Mullins is an author, and a professor of Education at Concord Universi...

Our guest for Episode 8 is Dr. Matthew Crosston. He will be sharing stories with us about his Melungeon ancestor, Gustavus Adolphus "Dolphin" Crosston, who fought at Valley Forge alongside General George Washington. We will also discuss the "One Drop Rule" and the implications that came with being of mixed ancestry. Dr. Matthew Crosston is the Director of Academic Transformation and Chief Institut...

Dr. Crystal Cavalier-Keck is a citizen of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, and she has dedicated the past 5+ years to defending her homelands against the Mountain Valley Pipeline/Southgate Extension. She is leading a campaign to bring Rights of Nature laws to NC to protect the waterways and communities in the path of the pipeline. Crystal is the co-founder of 7 Directions of Service with...

Sibrena Stowe-Geraldino, discusses her Melungeon and Free People of Color ancestors who fought in the American Revolution through till today. She will also be discussing how to submit your Melungeon Patriot ancestors through the new Daughters of the American Revolution's (DAR) Melungeon Research Group. As well as share with us family connections to notable ancestors and people like Martin Luth...

Jamestown Freedom Pioneers (c. 1830–1850s) were free people of color in Jamestown, North Carolina whose families and extended networks participated in abolitionist and freedom support activities during the antebellum era. Within a region shaped by an active Quaker presence, free Black families and Quaker allies shared moral opposition to slavery and engaged in efforts to aid freedom‑seeking enslav...

Podcast guest Marvin Jones, Documentary Photographer and Founder of the Chowan Discovery Group. We discuss his mixed ancestry and Melungeon Revolutionary ancestors from the Winton Triangle in Hartford, NC, as well as his Virginia connections.

Former MHA President and Melungeon author, Wayne Winkler, discusses how mixed-ancestry people like the Melungeons influenced and contributed to the American Revolution.

Join the Melungeon Heritage Association for Season 6 Episode 2 with special guest: Daughters of the American Revolution! Links D.A.R. - dar.org D.A.R. members can send names of Patriots to the D.A.R - epu@dar.org If you're not a member yet, you can ask for more information - epu@dar.org We will also have all of this information on the Melungeon Roots website: melungeonroots.com

MHA President Heather Andolina speaks with Jes Arnold, creator of the new Melungeon Roots website ( melungeonroots.com ), a Melungeon resource center and online community. Jes is an amateur genealogist and researcher, and a Melungeon descendant with deep roots in Eastern Kentucky. Through her project, Jes aims to support those seeking to learn more about their mixed ancestry heritage, foster a gre...

In this season’s finale episode, MHA Board President Heather Andolina welcomes YouTube creator Danielle Romero and discovers how she found out about her Melungeon and Redbone ancestry, how the two communities are similar, and what inspired her to start her own YouTube channel you’ll want to discover for yourself. Danielle Romero is a YouTube creator and hosts the YouTube channel NYTN where she exp...

In this episode, Heather Andolina welcomes John King to discuss at-risk populations, specifically the poor, homeless, and mixed-ethnic and non-white communities in Appalachia and the Southeastern United States. John also introduces listeners to the conference, Class Con, and why he started the conference and what it's all about. John King is an American Cultural Studies PhD candidate at Bowling Gr...

Nae Whitman joins Heather Andolina to talk about her journey in overcoming generational trauma, the resilience of the Melungeon people, her fierce support of the LGBTQIA community, and her future writing, and performing endeavors. Nae Cole Whitman is a writer of essay, travel, fiction, and food, as well as a poet and bon vivant. She has written her first memoir called “Hag,” and is working on her...

Heather Andolina welcomes Dr. Kimberly Cheek to examine the Tribal connections to the Underground Railroad in North Carolina and Virginia, how maroon and Melungeon communities helped and supported African Americans with Freedom-Seeking, and delve a little into Dr. Kimberly Cheek’s own mixed ethnic ancestry. Dr. Kimberly M Cheek is an Adjunct Lecturer at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical St...

In this episode's discussion, Heather Andolina invites Chief Deanna Wood-Priddy to sharing her discovery of her Melungeon heritage, what inspired her to write a book about her life story, and how she became Chief of a Tribal nation. Chief Deanna Wood-Priddy is the mother of two beautiful daughters, and has been married twelve years to her childhood sweetheart. She is an author, singer, songwriter,...

In this episode Heather Andolina (MHA Board President) talks to organizers Simone El Bey, Joanna Henry, and Brooke Gibbons about an all new exhibit called “Generations: An Indigenous Exhibit,” a collaboration exhibit with The Cain Center for the Arts, the Melungeon Heritage Association, the Catawba Cultural Center, and others, in bringing this unique exhibit to the public from November 12th, 2024...

For the Season 5 debut episode, Heather Andolina (MHA Board President) is joined by Lindsay Kolasa and Phyllis Light to discuss Southern and Appalachian folk medicine, what Southern and Appalachian folk medicine is, its origins, and the connections to the Melungeon people.    Phyllis D. Light is a fourth-generation herbalist and healer and has studied and worked with herbs, foods, and other healin...

Dr. Jose Pimienta-Bey is a tenured Associate Professor of African & African American Studies and General Studies at Berea College in Kentucky for the past fifteen years. Pimienta-Bey's primary research interests include Moorish History, “Black”/African Psychology, Comparative Religious Studies, and African American Social and Political Thought. He is the author of numerous publications, in...

Scott Withrow is an author, editor, history teacher, as well as a park ranger for the National Park Service. Scott was President of the Melungeon Heritage Association for five years and is the current President Emeritus of the Melungeon Heritage Association. Scott is the editor, as well as an author, of one of the essays in the book, “Carolina Genesis,” which is a compilation of essays about mixed...

Melinda Trueblood Stimpson is Roma, Native, Jewish, queer, and autistic, and they recently realized that they might be a Melungeon descendant, but is still in the process of researching their Melungeon ancestry.  Melinda is a scientist, consultant with a co-operative called Ludar Animal Behavior, and is the director of an animal 501c3 non-profit called Adopt Ohio. They work in community healthcare...

Aaron Collins is an amateur genealogist and researcher. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology, and minor in Appalachian Studies. He served twelve years in the US Army reserves. Earlier this year, Aaron started his own business, Lefthanded Guy Upholstery and Woodworking. Aaron is a descendant of “Old” Benjamin Collins via his maternal grandfather. He spent his form...

Joshua Caleb Daniel Outsey, has been an actor, both on stage and on television. He is also a dedicated Community Organizer and hip-hop recording artist and performer.  Joshua is a co-founder of “ Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development” (SEEED) in Knoxville, TN. For over a decade, he has worked as an advocate for racial equality and economic and environmental justice in and around urban and ru...

Professor Emerita, Dr. Kathy J. Lyday , has taught first-year writing, linguistics, grammar, the history of the English language, American literature, Introduction to Literature, literature of the Holocaust, and Appalachian literature at Elon University for 41 years. Her research interests include Appalachian authors, Melungeons in literature,  Holocaust literature, and language use in society. Dr...

Kiran Singh Sirah is a speaker, folklorist, storyteller, peace-builder, and past president of the International Storytelling Center (ISC) and producer of the world-renowned National Storytelling Festival. Prior to his appointment at ISC, Kiran helped establish a number of award-winning arts, cultural, and human rights programs in numerous countries. Sirah is regularly asked to provide keynote lect...

Dr. Melissa Carver is the author of the book, "Who the Hell Told You That?" She's also the founder of the Annual Rejuvenation Retreat, President of the nonprofit organization, Mindset Junkies, contributing writer for Chopra and Elephant Journal, as well as a Chopra certified instructor. She is a mindset practitioner who feels authentic perspectives, generate happiness and fulfillment in all aspect...

Gabriel Greaves , who earned a master's in American Studies from Kennesaw State University in Georgia, and is now a professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at Kennesaw State University, with a background in Afro-Latino studies, the civil rights era, Christianity in the Americas, and the social impact of religious worldviews. He is also a human services professional, historian, educator,...