Memorials
Dear Appalachian Studies Association Community,
It is with profound sadness that we acknowledge the recent passing of two towering literary and cultural figures, doris diosa davenport and Nikki Giovanni. Their legacies of advocacy, creativity, and truth-telling are deeply woven into the fabric of Appalachian and African American literary history, leaving an indelible mark on our community and beyond.
doris diosa davenport was a passionate poet, educator, and activist whose work embodied a fearless commitment to social justice and cultural authenticity. As a scholar rooted in both Appalachian and African American traditions, her poetry challenged boundaries, celebrated identity, and spoke to the complexities of belonging. Her voice amplified stories often unheard, offering wisdom and resilience through her unapologetic exploration of race, gender, and regional identity.
Nikki Giovanni, celebrated as one of America’s foremost poets, gifted the world with works that celebrated Black life, resistance, and love. Though widely recognized on a global scale, her ties to Appalachia were central to her literary ethos. Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Giovanni’s work reflects the richness of her Appalachian roots while addressing universal struggles for equity and justice. Her poetry, lectures, and activism inspired generations of writers, thinkers, and change-makers.
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Together, davenport and Giovanni expanded the horizons of Appalachian studies, reminding us that Appalachia is a dynamic, multifaceted region enriched by its diverse voices and histories. Their work compels us to continue the vital task of amplifying marginalized narratives, embracing complexity, and fostering inclusive spaces where all stories are valued.
As we reflect on their lives and contributions, let us honor their legacies through our work, our advocacy, and our art. We send our deepest condolences to their families, friends, and all who were touched by their brilliance.
With gratitude and remembrance,
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Ricardo Nazario y Colón, Past President, Appalachian Studies Association
IN MEMORIAM
2023-2024
IN MEMORIAM
2022-2023
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The Appalachian Studies Association (ASA) community mourns the loss of Dr. Tammy “Tambone” Clemons. Tammy was a fierce intellect and an unwavering advocate for social justice. A long-time member of the ASA, she shaped the organization and made essential contributions to our Association during her too-brief life and career.
Remembering Tammy Clemons
A mentor to countless students and peers, Tammy leaves a legacy as a champion of curiosity and discovery. While her achievements are many, perhaps her greatest legacy was the establishment, along with her wife Timi Reedy, of Camp Happy Appalachee in 2011. This LGBTQ gathering space at the annual conference has provided a welcoming space for countless organization members and served as a predecessor to the inclusive efforts of the organization today. She brought attention to a too often overlooked group in our Appalachian Community.
Tammy’s intellectual and academic contributions to ASA were and continue to be significant. She studied and worked at two prominent institutions in Appalachian Studies – Berea College, where she graduated in 1999 as Berea’s first women’s studies major, and the University of Kentucky, where she earned an MA and PhD in Anthropology studying with Ann Kingsolver. Driven by intellectual curiosity, she also earned a Master of Divinity Studies from Harvard University, in 2001.
Wherever she found herself, Tammy brought her interests in feminism, ecofeminism, community, youth, activism, oral history, media, and art. These became common themes throughout her presentations at the ASA conference in a variety of ways over the years. She was a founding and ongoing member of the yearly roundtables on feminism in Appalachia. As recently as mid-December, she was contributing as co-editor in a forthcoming themed issue of the Journal of Appalachian Studies on "Women, Gender, and Feminism in Appalachia: Intersecting and Emerging Scholarship." Tammy lived her values, residing in an “off-the-grid” dome home she and Timi built themselves in rural Eastern Kentucky. She showed up in countless ways for the issues, people, and land she believed in and cared so much about. Beyond the traditional academic institutions in Appalachia, she co-moderated the Appalnet listserv and was involved with many venerated organizations in the region, such as The High Rocks Educational Corporation, Appalachian Media Institute, and the Waymakers Collective.
We will remember and miss her energy and presence in ASA. We will celebrate her legacy and keep that legacy alive through activities such as Camp Happy Appalachee. Seeing her at the annual conference was always a joy because she shared her passion, curiosity, and kindness sincerely with others in the community. While it is heartbreaking to know we won’t see Tambone or her joyful smile there this March, we know she will be with us in spirit. The legacy she built in her work and life will live on in the knowledge she shared and her impact on individuals and the ASA community.
Remembering Loyal Jones (1928-2023) The ASA Ancestor You Might Not Know You Had
The Appalachian Studies Association mourns the passing of Loyal Jones (1928 – 2023). We also celebrate his life and his role in Appalachian Studies. Loyal’s steady heart, accepting vision, wry sense of humor, and deep commitment to the region and its people have deeply influenced most long-time members of ASA, and through them, all of us.
Loyal grew up in a family that raised corn in Cherokee and Clay Counties in the North Carolina mountains, and he had never considered going to college until after World War II when one of his neighbors at the John C. Campbell Folk School helped him apply to college at Berea College in 1950.
English degrees in hand, Loyal was organizing national conferences on the region for the Council of Southern Mountains as early as 1959. He became director of the Appalachian Center at Berea College in 1970, which is where, eight years later, he would help the first Appalachian Studies Conference come into being. Eventually he even became president of ASA until 1989, wisely putting off the best part until four years before he retired.
Loyal produced albums by unknown musicians, gave more talks than you can shake a stick at, taught generations of students and scholars, and his last book, My Curious and Jocular Heroes: Tales and Tale-Spinners from Appalachia came out in 2018.
But what exactly did Loyal bring to Appalachian Studies? At the age of 55, I am perhaps the youngest of ASA’s presidents to have known, loved, and been influenced by Loyal, whose memoir I am now editing. But what I might say about his influence is likely better said by himself and others.
When Loyal retired from Berea in 1993, historian Ron Eller shared that for those in Appalachian Studies Loyal had come to mean “the link between who we are in our hearts and who we have become in our heads. Always self-effacing and humble, Loyal has never approached the region at arms-length. He has always found dignity and value in the region’s people and culture, and has challenged us to change, to become more than what we are, without losing the best part of ourselves” (Appalachian Heritage 1994 Summer, 13).
Loyal recounts in his unpublished memoir how he had come to know Edward “Ed” J. Cabell through their mutual passion for traditional music. At the same time, John Stephenson, who was then director of the University of Kentucky’s Appalachian Center, was an important academic mentor to William H. Turner. Loyal and John then found financial support and provided encouragement to these two quite different visionaries, who would go on to edit Blacks in Appalachia (1985), one of the most important Appalachian studies books in the last fifty years.
What Loyal taught those who knew him was how to be interested in each person they met. In a 1999 interview he got straight to the point that “every college ought to have some kind of course” that taught students how to “deal with ordinary people and try to understand their lives as being important, because they are human beings and this is how they live and this is how they find meaning and that is what they do” (Appalachian Journal 2000 27(4), 401). As for Appalachian studies, Loyal has written, “Just when I think I have a hold on a definition of Appalachian people, somebody writes a new book or article and leaves me with a handful of air” (Appalachia Journal 1982, 9(2-3), 188). Rather than be frustrated or get upset at somebody else blowing hot air, Loyal felt it was best to invite everyone to the party: “I believe we ought to do what each do best in the hope that all of it will contribute a little bit to the fund of knowledge and that this fund will make wiser thinkers and doers” (1982, 190).
And perhaps that’s the best lesson Loyal gave ASA: to include, to talk, to listen, and to have some fun while doing so.
So, thank you Loyal for helping get Appalachian Studies up and running.
Chris Green, 2013-2014 ASA President