Dr. Cicero Fain: The Keeper of the Unseen Map

By: BBG Virtual Intern – Srijani Mitra

Credits — Marshall University website

If you want to understand the soul of West Virginia, you must know Dr. Cicero M. Fain III.

A historian, author, educator, and public scholar, Dr. Fain currently serves as Assistant Provost for Access and Opportunity at Marshall University. He also serves as Assistant Research Director and Outreach Specialist for the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Initiative, a nine-county, three-state initiative dedicated to locating and documenting Underground Railroad sites throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

A native of Huntington and a lifelong steward of Appalachian history, Dr. Fain has dedicated his work to documenting the Black experience in Appalachia and restoring stories too often left out of the region’s historical record.

His work can best be described as a form of cartography — mapping the lives, struggles, and legacies of Black communities across the mountains. Through scholarship, public history, education, and community storytelling, he fills in the missing pieces of West Virginia’s story, ensuring that Black Appalachian history is seen, studied, and remembered.

The Work

Dr. Fain’s work is a powerful blend of rigorous archival research and community-rooted storytelling. He is not simply a scholar; he is a keeper of memory.

His research centers on Black Appalachian history, migration, and the social, political, and cultural development of Black communities in Huntington and the broader region. He is the author of Black Huntington: An Appalachian Story, an award-winning book that traces the African American experience in Huntington from Reconstruction through the early twentieth century.

Beyond the page, his work reaches classrooms, archives, and public spaces. Through the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Initiative, he helps preserve sites connected to the Underground Railroad while ensuring these histories remain visible for future generations.

This work ensures that the stories of Black Appalachian communities are not only remembered, but protected and passed forward.

The Why

Dr. Fain’s scholarship and public engagement reflect a long-standing commitment to preserving Black history in Appalachia.

Through his teaching, research, and institutional leadership, he brings visibility to stories and voices that have historically been overlooked. His work contributes to a fuller, more honest understanding of the region’s past and present — one that acknowledges the contributions, resilience, and leadership of Black communities across the mountains.

He reminds us that Black people have always been part of this region’s foundation — shaping its culture, building its communities, and contributing to its economic and social life.

Why It Matters to BBG

Dr. Fain’s work carries implications far beyond West Virginia because it challenges the white-washed narratives that have too often defined how Appalachia and the nation tell their stories.

But this work is about more than correcting the historical record. It offers a powerful response to the long-standing erasure of Black voices from public memory. This is solutions journalism at its core: not simply naming the problem, but showing how one leader is actively working to address it through sustained, community-rooted action. Through research, education, public history, and preservation, Dr. Fain demonstrates what it means to move from omission to restoration.

His work provides a model for how communities can confront historical exclusion — by preserving stories, strengthening institutions, and ensuring future generations see themselves reflected in the history of this region.

Because of his impactful work over the years, Dr. Cicero Fain is proudly part of Black By God’s People Moving the Mountains.