• Stacy Webb to represent the Redbone Heritage Foundation

The Melungeons and other mixed-ethnic groups of the southeastern United States are the topic of a discussion at the Atlanta-Fulton Public Central Library, located at One Margaret Mitchell Square in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The Melungeon Heritage Association is the sponsor of this event, which will take place on Saturday, November 18, at 10 a.m. in the auditorium.   Stacy Webb & Wayne Winkler Wayne Winkler is the author of Walking Toward the Sunset: The Melungeons of Appalachia (2004, Mercer University Press). He is also vice-president of the Melungeon Heritage Association. Winkler will discuss the history of these groups, which earlier researchers labeled “tri-racial isolates,” “remnant Indian tribes,” “mestizos,” or “racial islands.” The few scientists who studied them assumed they were a Colonial-era mixture of European, African, and Native American ancestry. “A better term might be ‘ethnically-complex populations,’” says Winkler. “While most of the groups do descend from European, African, and Native American ancestors, there is also evidence of east Indian, Roma or gypsy, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and other ancestries. These small, obscure groups strongly suggest that the early history of our country, and particularly the southeast, was much more ethnically diverse than most of us realize.”

Some of the most obscure and mysterious ethnic groups in America will be discussed at the Atlanta Central Library on November 18. Moreover, a surprising number of Atlanta-area residents - whether they know it or not -- share ancestry with one or more of these groups.

Melungeons, Redbones, Brass Ankles, Croatans, Moors, Turks, and nearly 200 other mixed ethnic groups were documented in that mid-1940s by the Library of Congress. Many of these populations have essentially disappeared through assimilation into the surrounding communities, but others have organized and are celebrating their unique heritage.

Wayne Winkler of the Melungeon Heritage Association and Stacy Webb of the Redbone Heritage Foundation will discuss the mixed-ethnic populations of the southeastern United States at the Atlanta-Fulton Public Central Library, located at One Margaret Mitchell Square in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The Melungeon Heritage Association is the sponsor of this event, which will take place on Saturday, November 18, at 10 a.m. in the auditorium.

Winkler is the author of Walking Toward the Sunset: The Melungeons of Appalachia (2004, Mercer University Press). He is also vice-president of the Melungeon Heritage Association, which organized in 1998 to promote research on the Melungeons and other mixed-ethnic populations. Stacy Webb is the president of the Redbone Heritage Foundation, which was organized in Louisiana in 2005. The Redbones, like the Melungeons, were first documented along the eastern seaboard, but eventually migrated westward - the Melungeons to the Appalachian Mountains, and the Redbones to Louisiana and Texas. But many families from these and other mixed-ethnic populations also migrated to urban areas - particularly Atlanta.

Winkler and Webb will discuss the history of these groups, which earlier researchers labeled "tri-racial isolates," "remnant Indian tribes," "mestizos," or "racial islands." The few scientists who studied them assumed they were a Colonial-era mixture of European, African, and Native American ancestry. "A better term might be 'ethnically-complex populations,'" says Winkler. "While most of the groups do descend from European, African, and Native American ancestors, there is also evidence of east Indian, Roma or gypsy, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and other ancestries. These small, obscure groups strongly suggest that the early history of our country, and particularly the southeast, was much more ethnically diverse than most of us realize."

Legends and folklore surrounded these mixed-ethnic communities. Romantic tales involving shipwrecked pirates, ancient explorers, and lost colonies attempted to explain their mysterious origins. Meanwhile, they often occupied an uneasy social position in the segregated South: not quite white, not quite black. Some areas had three-way segregation, with schools for white students, schools for black students, and schools for those students who were considered to be neither.

Kevin Hayes, an MHA member and organizer of this event, first became interested in his heritage when he began building his family tree and became increasingly aware of the striking physical features of his relatives and their unique surname, Cumbo, which seemed peculiar for a Black family. "Desperation, my family surname, Cumbo, and a search engine led me to the Melungeon community. Once aware of the Melungeon community, I began to notice striking similarities between my Cumbo family and the Melungeons. Tales passed down throughout my family mirrored those of many Melungeons. My simple desire to document my family's history has turned into a near decade long quest to uncover the truths behind ethnicity and the notion and preoccupation with race in our society."  

Everyone is invited to this free event. "It's a fascinating subject, whether or not you share the heritage," says Winkler. "But for many people, when they learn about one of these populations, a little light goes on and they begin to unravel some of the mysteries in their own family histories." 

For More Information
CONTACT:

Kevin Hayes
(770-361-6701)
kevinhayes@creativework.org

Wayne Winkler
423.439.6441
winklerw@etsu.edu