Pike County, OH – As Black as We Wish to Be

In this episode Al Letson and guest producer Lu Olkowski visit a tiny town in the Appalachian foothills of Ohio where, for a century, residents have shared the common bond of identifying as African-American despite the fact that they look white. Racial lines have been blurred to invisibility, and people inside the same family can vehemently disagree about whether they are black or white. It can be tense and confusing. As a result, everyone’s choosing: Am I black? Am I mixed race? Or, am I white? Adding to the confusion, there’s a movement afoot to recognize their Native-American heritage.

Special Thanks

“As Black As We Wish to Be” was produced by Lu Olkowski with help from Laura Spero and edited by Taki Telonidis.  Pejk Malinovski provided technical assistance.  DNA testing was provided by 23andMe.

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Thanks to our academic advisors Beverly Gray, Lucia Stanton, James W. Loewen and Jake Bapst.

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Special thanks to Danielle Blau, Sean Cole, Anayansi Diaz-Cortes, Neenah Ellis, Jennifer Ferro, Andrew Grant-Thomas, Juanita & Gary Harris, Kerrie Hillman, Tim Hinman, Trey Kay, David Krasnow, Torey Malatia, Lulu Miller, Kara Oehler, Tim Paulson, Sandra Sleight-Brennan, Laura Starecheski, Tim Traxler, Gregory Warner, John Winnenberg and Jeremiah Zagar.

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“As Black As We Wish to Be” was sponsored by Ohio’s Hill Country Heritage Area and made possible with funding from the Ohio Humanities Council. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities, or of the Ohio Humanities Council.