C Choice

“My personal mission and philosophy is to meet folks where they are, some folks are maybe just starting anti-racism work and some may be super woke but usually it's a bit of both,” says C Choice, the brain behind instagram account @black_ppl_in_boone.

Originally, Choice had begun the account as they “wanted to begin creating a community space and looking for folks of color who have experiences here in Boone.” 

Then in May of 2020, students from App State hosted a Black Lives Matter protest in response to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police. It was then, Choice realized, “Hey, I think people are following me in response to that protest.” From there, “the account continued to grow as I shared my own content and story. I also was going to highlight Black joy in Boone and get on the Greenway to take pics, then as everything began shutting down - it didn’t work out that way.”

While we aren’t coming together in person, the account is “still building community” as a resource to “highlight and center marginalized voices, but also educating the folks willing to work to become anti-racist. I want to share knowledge and start conversation,” Choice says. “How can we create spaces for marginalized folks to have a space to come and be unapologetically themselves and feel seen and heard?”

As the following grew, now over 3,000, Choice realized “there is a huge need for a space like this and that we need as many people as possible to do the work.” From there, the account emerged as a go-to for resources around intersectional anti-racist work and a place where boonies of color can feel safe to share their experiences. 

For the future, Choice says “ultimately, when we are in a world post-pandemic, I hope this will be a space where event information is held and create community spaces for BBQ’s and kick-backs” -- where boonies can come together to learn and support each other in person.

Not only do we support the invaluable work Choice is doing, we are committed to doing that work ourselves -- in real life and on IG. Follow @black_ppl_in_boone for more.