therealemiliarose replied to your post “Hoodoo is for Black People.”
I feel the same but I’m getting mixed answers from everywhere, especially from black root workers so now I’m confused. Like for example, the author Stephanie Rose Bird claims that white folk from the Appalachians work the root in her famous book “Sticks, Stones, Roots &Bones.” There is even another widely known book called “Old Style Conjure” by Starr Casas which I stopped reading because she’s white. So I’m confused af. I as a mixed black woman feel offended by whites who work the root
Appalachian magic is an entirely separate practice from Hoodoo, they were created within the same region, but they were not created out of shared circumstances. They do share roots/herbs of the area with each other. There may also be some similarities within each practice but Appalachian magic isn’t Hoodoo/Rootwork and vice versa. Anyone who says that Appalachian magic and Hoodoo are the same is misinformed and actively ignoring the historical events that happened in order for both practices to be created in the first place. Anyone who equates the similarities between the two to say that anyone can practice Hoodoo is incorrect. To think about it I don’t even think that Appalachian magic is open to people unless their family was at some point based in the Appalachian Mts.
So...pretty much, Stephanie Rose Bird is correct white people from the Appalachians do work the roots - it’s just not the same or equated to Hoodoo. And Star Casas is a fraudulent ass appropriator so you did the correct thing.