Welcome to the Melungeon Heritage Association Website

The head of Virginia’s Bureau of Vital Statistics from 1912 to 1946, Walter Ashby Plecker, believed “there is a danger of the ultimate disappearance of the white race in Virginia, and the country, and the substitution therefore of another brown skin, as has occurred in every other country where the two races have lived together.” This “mongrelization,” in Plecker’s view, caused of the downfall of several earlier civilizations. He was determined to prevent this in America, or at least in Virginia.

In January of 1943, Plecker sent a circular to all public health and county officials in Virginia, listing, county by county, the surnames of all families suspected of having African ancestry. The cover letter stated that they were “mongrels” and were now trying to register as white. The names listed in the southwestern Virginia counties included Collins, Gibson, Moore, Goins, Bunch, Freeman, Bolin, Mullins, and others described as “Chiefly Tennessee Melungeons.” You can read more inside.

Podber's The Electronic Front Porch Now Available 

You may have met Jake Podber at one of the Melungeon gatherings. Using oral histories, The Electronic Front Porch takes a revealing look at the impact of radio, television, and the Internet on the residents of rural Appalachia. Eighty-six of those residents provide a human diary documenting how early listeners and viewers chose, listened, and watched their programs, and perhaps most importantly, how electronic media affected their lives. The stories tracing the adoption of the Internet show how Melungeons, who historically have been perceived as “other,” used electronic media to establish communities despite their geographical isolation. Click here for more information.  

First Union Gallery 

In July of 1997, members of an online mailing list decided to gather in Wise, Virginia, to celebrate their Melungeon heritage. The organizers expected about 50 people; instead, more than 600 showed up. First Union attracted people from all over America - researchers, writers, and most of all, people who were curious about their ancestry and were exploring their Melungeon roots, whether known or suspected. From First Union, the Melungeon Heritage Association was chartered. Inside, you'll find a photo gallery of that weekend in July 1997.

Alther's Kinfolks Available Online 

Best-selling author Lisa Alther chronicles her search for missing branches of her family tree in this dazzling, hilarious memoir. A babysitter told Lisa about the Melungeons: six-fingered child-snatchers who hid in caves. Forgetting about these creepy kidnappers until she had a daughter of her own, Lisa learned they were actually an isolated group of dark-skinned people living in East Tennessee. She set out to discover who these mysterious Melungeons really were—and why her grandmother wouldn’t let her visit their Virginia relatives.Part sidesplitting travelogue, part how (and how not) to climb your family tree, KINFOLKS shimmers with wicked humor, showing just how wacky and wonderful our human family really is. You can order this book online. 

Vande Brake Book Now Available In Paperback

How They Shine: Melungeon Characters in the Fiction of Appalachia by Katherine Vande brake is now avialable in paperback. Vande Brake argues that fiction writers choose to create Melungeon characters, incorporate Melungeon lore, and replicate the Melungeon experience because Melungeon is such a powerful metaphor. Their use of Melungeons is not intended as an insult, but instead as a way to say more with less. You can order this book online.