I'm glad you find resonance with it, Katharine. Place-based politics can easily become reactionary and problematic; I hope to find and encourage a way that fosters local affinity and local community without falling prey to nativism or hostility toward new community members.
Appalachia is a place, but it isn't fixed or unchanging.
Appalachia is synonymous with with poverty and institutions such as hospitals get special benefits for being designated Appalachian- medical drs can write off student loans for contracting to work in an Appalachia hospital. Your focus on wealthy families and their slaves does in no way define Appalachia it’s roots or its culture I see your attempt to make it more socially progressive. The area is gorgeous not from progressives deciding it will save Appalachia from itself and its residents ,not from capitalists ruining its resources but something in between
I appreciate you sharing your view on Appalachia, Jennifer.
As far as the Appalachian Regional Commission is concerned, our region is largely defined by poverty, hence why so many "economically distressed" counties adjacent to the Appalachian Mountains have been added to ARC over the past few decades, despite these newer ARC communities having fewer cultural ties to the mountains.
I understand why this has taken place. It has opened up more funding for families and organizations in economically marginalized communities, but by leaning too hard into the Appalachia=poverty view, we reinforce harmful stereotypes about our region as poor, uneducated, etc.
Appalachia has a strong history of egalitarian voices challenging capitalistic exploitation, ecological destruction, and political oppression: Florence Reece, Diana Baldwin, Anita Cherry, Catherine Tompa, Ida Mae Stull, Booker T. Washington, Appalachian Voices, Coal River Mountain Watch, the Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Organization, Edith Easterling, Shelva Thompson, and Maria Gunnoe, to name just a few.
I hope to amplify these perspectives.
What's important to me is that we focus our attention on our fellow Appalachians and resist the cultural and political forces that pull our attention, resources, and affections elsewhere, away from our local communities.
I love this, Jeffrey.
And I know you mean every word!🌱🌿💚
I'm glad you find resonance with it, Katharine. Place-based politics can easily become reactionary and problematic; I hope to find and encourage a way that fosters local affinity and local community without falling prey to nativism or hostility toward new community members.
Appalachia is a place, but it isn't fixed or unchanging.
Wonderful!
Thank you, Mary Charlotte. the notion of place is near and dear to the heart of why I started Common Appalachian.
Appalachia is synonymous with with poverty and institutions such as hospitals get special benefits for being designated Appalachian- medical drs can write off student loans for contracting to work in an Appalachia hospital. Your focus on wealthy families and their slaves does in no way define Appalachia it’s roots or its culture I see your attempt to make it more socially progressive. The area is gorgeous not from progressives deciding it will save Appalachia from itself and its residents ,not from capitalists ruining its resources but something in between
I appreciate you sharing your view on Appalachia, Jennifer.
As far as the Appalachian Regional Commission is concerned, our region is largely defined by poverty, hence why so many "economically distressed" counties adjacent to the Appalachian Mountains have been added to ARC over the past few decades, despite these newer ARC communities having fewer cultural ties to the mountains.
I understand why this has taken place. It has opened up more funding for families and organizations in economically marginalized communities, but by leaning too hard into the Appalachia=poverty view, we reinforce harmful stereotypes about our region as poor, uneducated, etc.
Appalachia has a strong history of egalitarian voices challenging capitalistic exploitation, ecological destruction, and political oppression: Florence Reece, Diana Baldwin, Anita Cherry, Catherine Tompa, Ida Mae Stull, Booker T. Washington, Appalachian Voices, Coal River Mountain Watch, the Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Organization, Edith Easterling, Shelva Thompson, and Maria Gunnoe, to name just a few.
I hope to amplify these perspectives.
What's important to me is that we focus our attention on our fellow Appalachians and resist the cultural and political forces that pull our attention, resources, and affections elsewhere, away from our local communities.
Amen, preach.
Love the sentiment. I see the mentality spreading as more of us realize how much we've become rootless.