Urban Appalachians - Making A Contribution

Making A Contribution

Most urban Appalachians have benefited in many ways from the move to the city, both economically and socially. Midwestern cities are home to thousands of practicing musicians, craftspeople, storytellers, poets, writers, and other artists. Appalachians have contributed to the civic, economic and cultural life of their communities serving as ministers, elected officials, union leaders, and in thousands of small businesses.

For the most part urban Appalachians are not rich and famous. They placed the welfare of their families and neighbors above their own advancement, moving up pretty much together or not at all. They are the men and women who made the refrigerators, assembled the automobiles, made paper boxes, and a thousand other products, and hauled them over the road in tractor trailers. They built bridges and highways. They made airplane engines and rocket components. They built churches and sometimes neighborhoods. Some longed for home as they saw their children and grandchildren grow up in the city or in suburban towns or in trailer parks. Some were glad to escape the hills in favor of greater opportunities in the city. All helped shape the life and culture of American cities in the last half of this century.

Is there anything unique about the experience of urban Appalachians? Perhaps, but the experience of this group is probably more remarkable in its similarity to that of other ethnic groups shaped by mass migrations, such as the Irish, Italian, German and African American communities. The processes of migration, community formation and long-term adjustment are similar in many ways. However, inner city white Appalachians now share with underemployed African-Americans and black Appalachians the tragedies and challenges of living in the post-industrial metropolis. Finding solutions in the form of jobs, good schools, decent housing, safe neighborhoods and other support for family and community life remains their greatest challenge.