In the 1800s, southern Appalachia was a remote and socio-economically challenged region. Even with its challenges, families survived, thrived, and died in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. Although Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSMNP) has documented well over 150 cemeteries since the 1990s, African American burials within these cemeteries are not well documented as their white counterparts. In 2018, GRSMNP started The African American Experiences in the Smokies Project (AAESP) to focus on the overlooked history of African Americans in the Smokies and Southern Appalachia. It has pledged to learn more about African American culture through discovered and undiscovered burials.