DOCUMENT RESUME ED 464 794 RC 023 529 AUTHOR Ballengee-Morris, Christine TITLE Hillbilly: An Image of a Culture. PUB DATE 2000-10-00 NOTE 8p.; Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Women of Appalachia: Their Heritage and Accomplishments (2nd, Zanesville, OH, October 26-28, 2000). PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) Speeches/Meeting Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Cultural Images; Culture Conflict; *Educational Practices; Elementary Secondary Education; *Self Concept; *Stereotypes; Student Alienation; *Student Attitudes; Student Projects IDENTIFIERS Appalachian Culture; *Appalachian People; *Critical Pedagogy; Place Based Education ABSTRACT The hillbilly stereotype has created image distortions of Appalachian people and culture in mainstream America, in academia, and among mountain people themselves. This paper examines Appalachian student reactions to the stereotype and ways in which students can explore the concept and image of hillbilly and develop their cultural identity. Appalachian people are a hybridization of various ethnic groups, including Native Americans, Africans, and Scotch-Irish. The culture is carried forward by oral tradition but is not static. Appalachian art forms and styles have followed local cultural transformations and vary widely. Stereotyping the culture began after the Civil War when outside developers entered the region, was a social control tactic, and was expanded and perpetuated by the mass media in the 1950s-60s. Psychological internalization of the pejorative image has hindered the ability of mountain people, particularly the young, to accept their identity, resulting in self-hatred, cultural denial, and lack of self-determination. The stereotype has also been internalized by education systems, which use it as an excuse for educational problems. As has happened in many Native American nations, reviving cultural traditions can facilitate healing. Students can confront the Appalachian stereotype by exploring the topic historically, aesthetically, and critically in their own place. Critical examination of the histories of Appalachian mountain culture, resistance, and artistic responses facilitates students' cultural identity, pride, and sense of place. Student projects for grades K-12 are listed. (Contains 17 references.) (SV) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY U.S. DEPARTMENT OFEDUCATION Office of Educational Researchand Improvement INFORMATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES CENTER (ERIC) HILLBILLY: AN IMAGE OF A CULTURE Jany.W. 12K:his document has been reproduced as received f rom the personor orgadization Fonsecq originating it. Christine Ballengee-Morris been made to improve TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES 0 Minor changes have INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) reproduction quality. The Ohio State University in this dock,- PoiniS of view or opinions statedrepresent official ment do not necessardy OEM position or pohcy. Abstract The stereotype has created image distortions in main-streamAmerica, academia, and among mountain people themselves. This chapter is about Appalachianand non-Appalachian youth exploring the concept and image of hillbilly, developing their ideaof cultural identity, and projecting their cultural voice in response to predominantstereotypes. This research reflects the negotiation required of any group that encounters derogatory protrayls of itself.For this reason, consider utilizing this paper and collection of lesson plansas a safe way for Appalachians and non- Appalachians students to explore stereotypes,power relationships, and cultural identity. Introduction The hillbilly is a cartoon image, alternately comedicor sinister, that is in contrast with the real people of the Appalachian Mountain Culture. The pejorativeimage portrays mountain people as lazy, stupid, sloppy, violent, moonshining, tobacco spitting, barefoot, incestuous andso on. In fact, Appalachian mountaineerspossess no more of these negative attributes than any other group. Virtually every ethnic group in the United States has beenon the receiving and giving end of words and images that demean the essence of people. Hillbilly isas offensive as other well-known derogatory words that other groups endure. The differenceis that many of these other images and words are being replaced with positive definitions. Hillbillyis not. There are important reasons for educators to understand this cultureand its arts. In the last quarter of the 19th century, missionaries with preconceived ideas of the culture builtschools in the region (Ballengee Morris, 1997). After World War Two,over 650,000 Appalachians migrated' to other areas in the United States for work which createdan Appalachian minority (Ballengee Morris 1997). Since then, mountain youth have had tocope with pedagogical styles that conflict with their traditional oral learning style. Many Mountain children have beenlabeled behavior disordered due to "going off' or "being defiant." A writer for The Dayton Daily Newspaperat the 1996 REACH (Realizing Ethnic Awareness and Cultural Heritage) Conferencerevealed his story2 of being mislabeled due to his struggles with the negative image. Fights anddisinterest in school were his responses. A famous storyteller addressed her problemsas a child living in Detroit, Ivfichigaa, and dealing with the image. She ran "home"as soon as she could. School was an unpleasant place and she found herself labeled as learning disabled. Recently inNewark, Ohio, a young man from Georgia was repeatedly shamed by his high school Spanishteacher for his accent. His grades dropped from A's and B's to barely passing. He responded by leaving his familyin Ohio and going to live with his grandfather near Atlanta in order to bring his gradesup so he could get into college. In Tazewell County, Virginia, an elethentary studentwas labeled learning disabled and "in need of culture." This student is Cherokee/Appalachian. She attendspow-wows, sings, dances, and creates art. She has beeri instructed in tribal spiritual constructs and in appropriatesituations wears traditional Cherokee clothing. She has had-constant exposure to traditional mountain artsas well. Yet she is "in need of 'culture." After her mother sued thecounty, she was home schooled. After two years, she was tested:and no learning disability could be found. Story afterstory reveals psychic damage when the stereotypic image and cultural identity collide. In theireyes, school was a painful experience that devalued them and their culture. Theynever forgot. Many cultural/ethnic CNI groups have protested and educated society and the media about derogatory words and harmful stereotypic images. So far the Appalachia Mountain Culture has been unsuccessful in bringing LO about this much needed change. CNS tz) BEST COPY AVAILABLE ci 2 (Y_ Sticks and stones may break.... The Mountain Culture people are a hybridization of various ethnicgroups including, but not limited to, Native Americans, Africans, and Scotch-Irish. The culture is carried forward by oral tradition (Ballengee Morris, 1997). Often oral tradition has been improperly translated by outsiders as meaning static (Hart, 1992/93). In the Mountain Culture, tradition is definedas a bridge between heritage (the culture of the past) and culture (the present reactionto time and place). The culture is a response to the geographical land forms, occupations, political and social convictions, resistance to oppression, social change, political dynamics, and stereotypic representation of the culture (Ballengee Morris, 1997). Narrowly defininga culture leads to institutional stagnation and stereotyping. The Mountain Culture is complex anddefies easy generalization. The art forms and styles have followed the local culturaltransformations and because of this are widely varied and non-monolithic--quilts, murals, recyclesculptures, outdoor installations, animal bone sculptures, baskets, glass bead works, jughead pottery, and instruments to name a few. Stereotyping the culture and art forms occurred immediately after the CivilWar when developers came into the region. They exploited the naturalresources and the people, and set forth to create a secured culture/ethnic/class stratification through control of education and media. Stereotyping cultures is one tactic utilized to implement control. Forthose of the Appalachian Mountain Culture, the documentation of the culture and the stereotypingoccurred at a time when the area was being developed and the Industrial Revolutionwas creating social upheaval. Fear of change motivated the modernized population to seek their pioneerroots. Writers, anthropologists, philanthropists, and collectors descended upon the Appalachianarea. A writing style called "local color" developed and was used to create many stereotypes that stillendure. John Fox Jr.'s novels which described mountain people assavages, barbarians, and bloodthirsty were quite popular (Smith, 1983). The stereotypic image was born. The word hillbilly appeared in print, in the New York Journal, onApril 23, 1900, defined as a "free and untrammeled white citizen of Alabama, who lives in the hills, hasno means to speak of, dresses as he can, talks as he pleases, drinks whiskey when he gets it, and fires off hisrevolver as the fancy takes him" (Green, 1965, p. 204). Those from the outside focusedon differences and characterized them as negative, then generalized the negative characterizations intoa stereotypic representation