Black people are usually a rarity in Appalachia. They were so rare, the one black kid I knew in Boone in the 1970’s dated white girls because there were no black girls his age. Nobody thought anything of it. His grandmother told him to stop when he went off to school because they weren’t as tolerant in Raleigh.
One of the vendors my son deals with at his job is black guy from the mountains. My son talked with him on the phone several times before they met for lunch.
Son was very surprised to meet a black guy who sounded just like every other local in the area.