FEATURE KENTUCKY L IBRARY A SSOCIATION
LIBRARY SERVICE TO URBAN APPALACHIANS: OPPORTUNITIES AND REWARDS
BY MARK SHORES
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR/REGIONAL CAMPUS LIBRARIAN MIAMI UNIVERSITY HAMILTON
ibraries should strive to serve members of Appalachian Migrants their communities, including groups of people (to Selected Cities) who may be underserved. Urban Appalachians have not garnered much atten- City Number of tion in the library literature, but this group of Migrants people constitutes a sizable portion of the population in some U.S. cities. By briefly Cincinnati 27,756 exploring the history of urban Appalachians, Columbus 25,545 librarians can gain a better understanding of Cleveland 35,926 the opportunities for reaching out to this pop- ulation. Historian James N. Gregory estimates Dayton 23,046 that 28 million people—black and white—left Chicago 41,946 the south during the twentieth century (4). Detroit 50,068 The “Great Migration” of black Americans to the north accounts for over 3 million between 1910 and 1950 (Holt, par. 2). Another “great WHY THEY LEFT migration” that began in the early twentieth The migration of Appalachians to the urban century was the movement of Appalachian north was hastened by both world wars mountaineers into some of the same cities as because of the need to build up the country’s African Americans: Chicago, Detroit, military might. Philliber cites other factors Louisville, Baltimore, Cleveland, Columbus, that led Appalachians to leave the mountains, Cincinnati, and Dayton. This migration— including the loss of jobs due to automation over 3 million people migrated between 1940 in the coal fields and the subdivision of farms and 1970 (McCoy and Brown 35)—is compa- into smaller and smaller tracts of worn-out rable in size to the migration of Irish and land (1). Few options remained but to find Italians to the United States from 1920 to work elsewhere. 1970. While certainly people who migrated from Appalachia were of different races and At the outset of their migration, urban national origins, this article focuses on white Appalachians landed in blue collar neighbor- migrants who left the region. hoods in their new home cities and often struggled economically. Urban Appalachians “Travel anywhere today through the south, also experienced problems typical to other especially the Upland South, and knock on any low-income migrants: unemployment, dis- door. You will be hard-pressed to find anyone crimination, and stereotyping (Maloney and whose family has not been touched by the great Obermiller 15). Many of them purposely white migration, which began in earnest during moved to cities that were already home to World War I and continued through the 1970s” other family members. Berry says that some (Berry 5). companies made use of these kinship networks by hiring friends and family of their employees The following table gives the numbers of who had been migrants themselves (118). Appalachian migrants to selected cities for the years 1955-1960 and 1965-1970 alone According to Maloney and Obermiller, urban (McCoy and Brown 61-62). Appalachians have been dubbed “The
16 KENTUCKY LIBRARIES • VOLUME 73 • NUMBER 1 URBAN Invisible Minority” because they are not tar- series of anthologies of articles from Foxfire geted by government programs geared towards magazine. (Foxfire began in the 1960s to pre- APPALACHIANS helping the needy, and they are outnumbered serve the traditional lore of the mountains.) CONTINUED by other minority groups (351). They suffer The Foxfire books cover a wide range of top- the same hardships as other minority groups, ics, including making handicrafts, beekeeping, yet they blend in with other whites around building log cabins, fiddle making, midwifery, them. Interestingly, African Americans who weaving and spinning, traditional foods of moved out of Appalachia to the industrialized Appalachia, and animal husbandry. north—many as part of the so-called second great migration—enjoyed a higher wage and Appalshop, a non-profit arts and education better occupational status than other African center based in eastern Kentucky, serves as a Americans (18). superior source for multimedia items to add to a library’s collection. According to Even with some migration back to the moun- Appalshop’s website, the organization pro- tain highlands, urban Appalachians still can duces “original films, video, theater, music, make up a significant portion of the population and spoken word recordings, radio photogra- in their adopted cities. Maloney and phy, multimedia and books.” At the time of Obermiller estimate that Hamilton County, this writing, Appalshop’s online store has Ohio (which makes up part of the greater approximately 100 films available for pur- Cincinnati area), may be comprised of almost chase, everything from interviews with 40% Appalachians, when accounting for third Appalachians about their way of life, to hard- and fourth generations (4). The numbers are hitting documentaries, including Justice in the even greater in other destination cities for the Coalfields and Ready for Harvest: Clearcutting Appalachian migrants. Wagner estimates that in the Southern Appalachians. in Hamilton, Ohio, a city approximately 25 miles north of Cincinnati in Butler County, The All Music Guide www.allmusic.com pro- over one-half of the residents are of vides information to help make music pur- Appalachian extraction (372). Even after fac- chasing decisions. Freely available online but tories closed in their adopted homes, and also available in print, its strength lies in its despite the strong urge to return to their histories and description of musical genres, as beloved birthplaces, many who left Appalachia well as its comprehensive list of the most chose to stay in their adopted cities even after important artists in each genre. The site also retirement (Obermiller and Howe 344). includes suggested best albums of each artist reviewed. Amazon.com is also useful in that WHERE LIBRARIES COME IN its expert reviewers designate some recordings Libraries located in areas populated by urban as essential for a collection. Either allmusic.com Appalachians and their descendants should or Amazon can help the librarian who wants consider building collections, programs and to add Appalachian music titles to the services not only to serve this population but library’s holdings. also to educate the public about Appalachian culture. Many excellent bibliographies created PROGRAMMING by college and university libraries can help Libraries that succeed in making meaningful guide collection development decisions. (See connections to their local communities often the list of bibliographies included below.) do so by providing high-quality programs for Books covering social issues and the history of the public. Focused programs targeted to Appalachia are excellent places to start. urban Appalachians not only attract that pop- University presses, such as those at the ulation and their descendants to the library, University of Tennessee and the University of but also help educate others in the communi- Kentucky, are prominent publishers of schol- ty about the important contributions arly monographs on Appalachian study topics. Appalachians have made. Prime examples of As many of the core titles on urban literary programs on Appalachia presented by Appalachians were published several years ago public libraries include: community-wide in limited runs, it may be necessary to use reading events involving either authors from online used booksellers such as ABE Books, Appalachia or those that write about it (such Alibris or Powells. as Sharyn McCrumb, Bobbie Ann Mason, Silas House, George Ella Lyon, Cynthia One excellent example of print materials that Rylant, Lee Smith, or Adriana Trigiani), and positively reflect Appalachian values is the poetry readings of works by Jesse Stuart, 17 KENTUCKY LIBRARIES • VOLUME 73 • NUMBER 1 URBAN Wendell Berry, Jo Carson, Fred Chappell, and Appalachia that they do to other cultural, Frank X. Walker and other Affrilachian poets ethnic or religious minorities. APPALACHIANS Performance-based programs include: story- CONTINUED telling festivals that highlight Appalachia’s Libraries should analyze programs and collec- oral traditions; shape note singing concerts (a tions for potential offensiveness to people of type of a cappella singing common in rural Appalachian descent. In the workplace, southern churches); folk dancing; dulcimer library staff should avoid inappropriate humor playing; and, concerts by local Bluegrass and that degrades Appalachian culture. Libraries folk musicians. Other successful programs can also take advantage of training sessions or have featured talks by Appalachian photogra- workshops that address cultural sensitivity. For pher Shelby Lee Adams and award-winning example, the Urban Appalachian Council in writer Jeff Biggers, author of The United States Cincinnati offers sensitivity training for of Appalachia. Demonstrations of hands-on organizations that serve urban Appalachians. craft activities—basketry, quilting, wood carv- Topics covered in these sessions include the ing, soap and candle making—have been pop- history of Appalachia, issues facing today’s ular as well. urban Appalachians, Appalachians and sub- stance abuse, and tips on how to work with CULTURAL SENSITIVITY urban Appalachian clients. Colleges and uni- Unfortunately, negative stereotypes of versities, social service agencies, arts organiza- Appalachians abound in popular culture. tions, businesses, and hospitals are among the Appalachians have been portrayed as tooth- many organizations that have participated in less, ignorant, shiftless, shabbily dressed, UAC sensitivity training (Urban Appalachian resistant to using modern conveniences, and Council). unable to form a grammatically correct sen- tence (Bauer and Growick 21). In the 1960s, Becoming more culturally sensitive helps The Beverly Hillbillies and Hee Haw brought make the library a more welcoming environ- this stereotype into the national conscious- ment to all people in the population served, ness. The news media were also involved in while also improving the services provided by spreading the stereotype. Television cameras library staff. While library services may be as followed President Lyndon B. Johnson to simple as helping someone apply for a library Appalachia where, in 1964, he declared a War card, or as complex as making collection on Poverty. Footage of rural Appalachians at development or budgetary decisions, cultural that time focused on the worst of the worst: sensitivity toward all, including urban “swayback porches, battered cars on cinder Appalachians, is vital. blocks, barefooted children, toothless men and polling places where dead people had CONCLUSION been voting for years ”(Jones par. 13). While not all libraries have urban Appalachians in their service population, Cultural sensitivity has been defined by those that do have a rich opportunity to reach Winston as “understanding and appreciation out to this group. Libraries can also use the for cultural differences and a commitment to opportunity to educate the wider public about creating an environment that supports mem- the positive contributions Appalachians have bers of under-represented groups and that made to American culture. Programs, collec- encourages and supports multiculturalism and tions and services should reflect culturally continuous learning about ourselves and oth- sensitive practices and must avoid perpetuat- ers” (7). While urban Appalachians are not a ing still widespread negative stereotypes. common minority in many American library communities, libraries should show the same Mark Shores level of cultural sensitivity to people from [email protected]
18 KENTUCKY LIBRARIES • VOLUME 73 • NUMBER 1 INTERNET SOURCES ON URBAN APPALACHIANS URBAN Urban Appalachian Council, Cincinnati, OH
BIBLIOGRAPHIES Selected Readings on Appalachian Migration and Urban Appalachians
OTHER USEFUL LINKS Affrilachian Poets –
WORKS CITED Appalshop. “More About Appalshop.”
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