Writing & Editing

Among the first to combine interests in the fields of African American and Appalachian Studies, Turner has published extensively in national newspapers, academic journals, and books on the black experience in Appalachia. His essays have been published in the Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times and dozens of African American newspapers, e.g., the Winston-Salem Chronicle.

The Harlan Renaissance

The Harlan Renaissance is an intimate remembrance of kinship and community in eastern Kentucky's coal towns written by one of the luminaries of Appalachian studies. Turner reconstructs Black life in the company towns in and around Harlan County during coal's final postwar boom years, which built toward an enduring bust as the children of Black miners, like the author, left the region in search of better opportunities.

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Black In Appalachia

Explore the complexities of Appalachia in this insightful sociological book. It delves into the region's rich culture, economic challenges, and social dynamics, offering compelling narratives and research. Discover the diverse experiences of the Appalachian people and uncover the truths and myths of this unique region.

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2021 Weatherford Award Recipient

“The Harlan Renaissance is an invaluable piece of Black Appalachian history and should be celebrated as such. William H. Turner weaves together years of historical research and a personal family history/narrative that is full of rich sociological analyses and detailed memories. In a through-generational voice, Turner sheds light on the harsh historical realities of Black Appalachian life while also envisioning a future of Appalachia in which Black communities and their stories are central.” communities and their stories are central.”

Selected Works

WV University Press issues promo for upcoming memoir - APPALACHIA / RACE / SNEAK PEEK Celebrating Black History Month in Appalachia: An early look at William Turner’s Harlan Renaissance

Wendell Berry’s defense of mural on UK campus shows “Hidden Wound” was superficial after all (Lexington Herald Leader, 2020)

Commentary: Black Lives Matter at the Mountaintops in My Old Kentucky Home (The Daily Yonder, 2020)

“Black Hillbillies have no time for elegies,” in Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy (Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll, eds., West Virginia University Press, 2019)

The Canaries in the Coal Mine Were Black (Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine, 2016)

Another Take on Hillbilly Elegy (Daily Yonder, 2016)

Sale of Ebony and Jet Photos Like Eating the Seed Corn (Huffpost, 2015)

Mississippi, Again! (The Chronicle, 2013)

Hallowed Hills (Lexington Herald-Leader, 2011)

African American Miners and Migrants: The Eastern Kentucky Social Club (Afterword to this book by Thomas E. Wagner and Phillip J. Obermiller, 2004)

Blacks in Appalachia
Originally published in 1985, Blacks in Appalachia, which was co-edited by William H. Turner and Edward J. Cabbell, offered the first comprehensive presentation of the black experience in Appalachia.

African American Miners and Migrants: The Eastern Kentucky Social Club (Afterword to this book by Thomas E. Wagner and Phillip J. Obermiller, 2004)

A scholar and pioneer (Mountain Xpress, 2018)

Interview (Head of the Holler, 2010)