Research Conversations - Rural Mail Carriers in Central Appalachia with Emily Hilliard

Join us as Assistant Curator Alison Bazylinski speaks with Emily Hilliard, Program Director for Folk and Traditional Arts at Mid Atlantic Arts. Hilliard received an Archie Green Fellowship in 2021 from the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for her project "Rural Free Delivery: Mail Carriers in Central Appalachia." The project documents the expressive culture and experiences of approximately twenty-five rural mail carriers and clerks in the upper mountain South (VA, WV, KY, OH, NC). It focuses, in particular, on the function they serve as lifelines in their community, as well as how the rural post offices are invaluable community hubs in remote rural areas.