Kenan Professor, Berea College
2024-2026
Black Appalachia
Race,Place&Identity
Winner
2026
Thomas D. Clark
Medallion
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Black Appalachia, featuring more than 25 scholars, writers, and artists.
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Award: Winner of the 2026 Thomas D. Clark Medallion.
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The most prestigious book published in 2026 by the University Press of Kentucky
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Core Topics: Migration, discrimination, arts, memory, and the cultural and socioeconomic experiences of Black Appalachians.
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The long awaited successor to Blacks in Appalachia (1985)
The Harlan Renaissance
Kenan Professor, Berea College
2024-2026
The William R. Kenan, Jr. Professorship is a prestigious faculty position funded by the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust. These professorships are awarded to distinguished scholars and educators at various institutions, particularly those who demonstrate excellence in both teaching and research.
Erasing Black Appalachia: 60 Minutes Missed the Full Story in McDowell County, Black by God,The West Virginian
By Dr. William H. Turner
February 25, 2026
“Bill Turner knows more about black life and culture in the mountains of the American South than anybody in the world.”
— Alex Haley || Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Roots & The Autobiography of Malcolm X
“Bill has been an inspiration to me in going deeper into our history...our shared stories.”
— bell hooks