Kentucky poet Frank X Walker coined the term Affrilachian back in 1991 after reading a dictionary entry that defined Appalachian as white residents of the Appalachian region. He wanted to create a term that included African-American residents in the mountains.

Over 2.5 million African Americans live in the 13-state region served by the Appalachian Regional Commission, which runs from New York to Alabama. In 2018, Black Americans made up 9.8 percent of the population of the entire region.