Urban Appalachian Council - History

History

During the 1960s efforts to do advocacy and organizing work with urban Appalachians emerged in several midwestern cities, notably Cincinnati. Initial efforts there began with the work of Ernie Mynatt, and the staff and volunteers of the Cincinnati Mayor’s Friendly Relations Committee (now the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission). These efforts converged in 1974 with the founding of the Urban Appalachian Council with Michael Maloney as its first director.

A leading advocate for urban Appalachians at the time was Dr. Frank Foster of Xavier University. Foster organized two successive conferences at Xavier in 1970 and 1971 which helped urban Appalachian leaders develop an agenda for action. This agenda, which the Urban Appalachian Council was formed to implwement, included

• organizing a consortium of scholars to conduct research on the health, education, and employment status of urban Appalachians. Today, the UAC Research Committee continues to document the needs and accomplishments of urban Appalachians through the publication of working papers, books, and scholarly articles;
• operating direct service programs in Appalachian neighborhoods (see Programs below);
• providing direct support to a network of community-based programs through local and national service volunteers, grant writing and sharing, and bookkeeping services;
• organizing conferences and workshops to assist educators, social workers, health care providers, and other professionals to work effectively with urban Appalachians;
• advocating with schools, local government, and other institutions for programs and policies that benefit low-income urban Appalachians; and
• presenting Appalachian arts, music, and other cultural programming in community settings as well as in local arts and performance venues.