Melungeon
Sign in to saveMelungeon ( ) (sometimes also spelled Malungean, Melangean, Melungean, Melungin) was a slur historically applied to individuals and families of mixed-race ancestry with roots in colonial Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina who were primarily descended from free people of color and white settlers. In the late 20th century, the term was reclaimed by descendants of these families, especially in southern Appalachia. Despite this mixed heritage, many modern Melungeons pass as white, as did many of their ancestors.
Key facts
- Ethnic group.related_groups
- Affrilachians, Lumbee, Atlantic Creole, Turks of South Carolina, Chestnut Ridge people, White Southerners, Black Southerners, Native Americans, Dominickers, Redbone (ethnicity), Mulatto, Coloureds, Griqua people, Basters, Métis, Black Indians in the United States, Garifuna
- Ethnic group.group
- Melungeon
- Ethnic group.image
- 260px|Arch Goins and family, from Graysville, Tennessee, c. 1920s
- Ethnic group.image_caption
- Goins family, Melungeons from Graysville, Tennessee,
- Ethnic group.regions
- United States (East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky)
- Ethnic group.languages
- Southern American English, Appalachian English
- Ethnic group.religions
- Predominantly Protestant Christianity
via Wikipedia infobox
~18 min read
Encyclopedic overview
15 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Early uses
- Origins of the Melungeon people
- Claims and hypotheses
- Myths
- Genetic testing
- History
- "King of the Melungeons"
- Modern identity
- Culture
- Melungeon families
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Melungeon ( ) (sometimes also spelled Malungean, Melangean, Melungean, Melungin) was a slur historically applied to individuals and families of mixed-race ancestry with roots in colonial Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina who were primarily descended from free people of color and white settlers. In the late 20th century, the term was reclaimed by descendants of these families, especially in southern Appalachia. Despite this mixed heritage, many modern Melungeons pass as white, as did many of their ancestors.
Many groups have historically been referred to as Melungeon, including the Melungeons of Newman's Ridge, the Lumbee, the Chestnut Ridge people, and the Carmel Melungeons. Some modern researchers believe that early Atlantic Creole slaves were one of the precursor populations to these groups. Many creoles, once in British America, were able to obtain their freedom and many married into local white families.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Melungeon” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.