Hip Hop, Bluegrass, Banjos, and Solidarity: Race and Class Histories in Appalachia U.S.A Patrick J. Salmons Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philsophy in A.S.P.E.C.T Sylvester Johnson, Chair Francois Debrix Bikrum Gill Zhange Ni 05/05/2021 Blacksburg, Virginia Keywords: Race, class, hip hop, bluegrass, Appalachia, solidarity, banjo, segregation, institutional racism, social movements Copyright 2021, Patrick J. Salmons HIP HOP, BLUEGRASS, BANJOS, AND SOLIDARITY: RACE AND CLASS HISTORIES IN APPALACHIA U.S.A Patrick Salmons ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the historical race and class tensions across the United States, and particularly focuses on Appalachia as a potential place of resistance against racial and class injustice. Arguing for a thick cross-racial solidarity movement, I examine the history of Black oppression from slavery to current modes of oppression such as mass incarceration and colorblind constitutionalism. The presence of anti-Black racism and under acknowledgement of whiteness hinders any form of cross-racial solidarity. To combat this, I ask, are the genres of hip hop, bluegrass, and country able to provide a reckoning of the continual racial oppression of Black people and an acknowledgement of whiteness, in Appalachia and the U.S.? I examine the historical progression of bluegrass and country, and hip hop, through the history of the banjo and music industry. The banjo, an African instrument, links Appalachia with histories of both Black expression and racial oppression. From here, I argue that the history of the music industry provides a further understanding of racial injustice that is parallel to the instances of institutional racial injustice in the U.S. This history provides evidence that Black artists used their music to enable social movements and resistance against systemic racial injustice in the U.S. Throughout several chapters, I analyze the many untold, forgotten, and hidden histories of Black racial violence that exists in the U.S. and Appalachia, and how music operates as a tool of resistance that can enable Black liberation against racial injustice. Through an examination of racial injustice in my hometown of Martinsville, Virginia, and using music as a tool, I suggest that, a thick cross-racial solidarity can exist with a recognition of historical racial injustice against Blacks, both locally and nationally, an acknowledgment of whiteness, an anti-racist framework for community activism, and a centering of Black voice, narrative, and Black liberation. HIP HOP, BLUEGRASS, BANJOS, AND SOLIDARITY: RACE AND CLASS HISTORIES IN APPALACHIA U.S.A Patrick Salmons GENERAL AUDIENCE ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the historical race and class tensions across the United States, and particularly focuses on Appalachia as a potential place of resistance against racial and class injustice. Arguing for a thick cross-racial solidarity movement, I examine the history of Black oppression from slavery to current modes of oppression such as mass incarceration and colorblind constitutionalism. The presence of anti-Black racism and under acknowledgement of whiteness hinders any form of cross-racial solidarity. To combat this, I ask, are the genres of hip hop, bluegrass, and country able to provide a reckoning of the continual racial oppression of Black people and an acknowledgement of whiteness, in Appalachia and the U.S.? I examine the historical progression of bluegrass and country, and hip hop, through the history of the banjo and the music industry. The banjo, an African instrument, links Appalachia with histories of both Black expression and racial oppression. From here, I argue that the history of the music industry provides a further understanding of racial injustice that is parallel to the instances of institutional racial injustice in the U.S. This history provides evidence that Black artists used their music to enable social movements and resistance against systemic racial injustice in the U.S. Throughout several chapters, I analyze the many untold, forgotten, and hidden histories of Black racial violence that exists in the U.S. and Appalachia, and how music operates as a tool of resistance that can enable Black liberation against racial injustice. Through an examination of racial injustice in my hometown of Martinsville, Virginia, and using music as a tool, I suggest that, a thick cross-racial solidarity can exist with a recognition of historical racial injustice against Blacks, both locally and nationally, an acknowledgment of whiteness, an anti-racist framework for community activism, and a centering of Black voice, narrative, and Black liberation. Salmons vi Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my committee and most importantly my chair, Dr. Sylvester Johnson for believing in this project and seeing it through. I would also like to thank Dr. Brandy Faulkner for her unwavering support, advice, and mentorship over the past several years. When I say that without your guidance and assistance none of this would have been possible, I mean it. You always took time out of your day to discuss issues of racial injustice, and these conversations have guided my journey ever since. To my parents, I want to emphasize how fortunate I am having supportive and loving people raise me and trust in everything I do. This project would be impossible without you both. To all my friends who helped along the way, whether by reading my drafts, or through your encouragement, a big thank you is long overdue and insuffienct to convey your importance to this project. The fact that I could provide a page of names speaks to how lucky I am to have so many people care about me and my well-being. Thanks again for your kind words and willingness to listen to me ramble. To my family and all my friends back home in Henry County, Virginia, I never forgot about you. This project is as much yours as it is mine, you all shaped my thinking, provided life-long friendships, and never failed to challenge me. For everyone I did not explicitly mention, if we ever had a conversation, either in passing or over an extended period of time, those conversations indefintely had an impact on my writing of this dissertation. I want to thank all of you as well. In everything you do, do it with love. -Patrick Salmons Salmons vii Preface This project is about suffering, pain, racism, class antagonism, and music, but most importantly it is about hope and love. Early on in my education, coming from the small town of Bassett, Virginia, adjacent to the city of Martinsville, I was shy and timid. Through the guidance of great mentors, I have become more confident and engaged in the change needed in this world. This project began in 2013 when I first heard the music of Kendrick Lamar. From then, I began to listen to stories of racial injustice, and I wondered why these problems existed. Without hip hop I would have never confronted my own position, and I would not have written this dissertation. This project is one of love, because without the love of so many that took the time to talk to a shy, small-town Appalachian kid, this would not be possible. It is a project of hope, because I hope it can make an impact of some kind in the neighborhoods I grew up in. I hope it can get people talking, and that it can provide an understanding of the problems that exist in Martinsville and around the world. This project, in many ways, is my hopeful love letter back home. I will always sing about my hometown, and I will do my best to always stand with those oppressed, who combat racial injustice and class oppression that is so prominent in this country. I urge everyone to listen to the music, hear the echoes, and join against these evil white supremacist systems that separate us. In these times and always, we must stand together and empathically yell, “Black Lives Matter!” This is for everyone back home, and for everyone who lost their life to the violent injustice of systemic racism. You will never be forgotten, and your story must be told. Last, but not least, this is for my Mom and Dad. Thank you both for instilling in me the virtues of love and kindness. I hope I have made you proud. -Patrick Salmons Salmons viii Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi Preface........................................................................................................................................... vii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Review of Literature ....................................................................................................................... 5 African American Religions, hip hop, and Appalachian music ...................................................... 8 Appalachia in Solidarity? .............................................................................................................. 10 Theoretical Paradigms of Hip hop, Appalachia, and Religion ..................................................... 23 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 26 Chapter Outline ............................................................................................................................