Appalachia: A Community Left Behind
J. Weber
When we talk about classism, we often fail to address the ways in which we perpetuate classism towards rural communities. Classism towards poor rural communities is alive and well — even within leftist spaces. Appalachia faces countless issues that relate very closely to social justice issues, and yet we are so often forgotten. It’s time to acknowledge the “white trash” and “redneck” stereotypes and the role that these stereotypes play in our communities. Appalachian communities are embattled in constant struggles against food and housing insecurity, addiction, lack of rural broadband, crumbling infrastructure, and more. Rural communities have by and large turned to conservative ideology that panders to poorer communities who feel left behind by the government and the nation, despite little tangible assistance actually being provided. Because of this shift in political alignment, many in liberal and leftist communities have recklessly labeled entire regions of the nation as conservative and, therefore, unwanted and unneeded. In doing this, they have failed our communities by ignoring our needs and leaving us without crucial resources. Despite our lengthy history of labor movements and our ties to progressive causes, we are ignored, belittled, and made fun of by those who romanticize our organizing.
Appalachia has been the center of some of the biggest labor movements in U.S. history, yet our contributions are largely forgotten or dismissed. The largest armed uprising since the Civil War and the largest labor uprising to date, the Battle of Blair Mountain, occurred in West Virginia during the Coal Wars. This uprising occurred because miners were attempting to unionize and tensions escalated between mine management, strikebreakers, and the miners themselves. One of the most prominent workers’ rights activists, Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, was involved in this movement. Mother Jones was an intersectional labor activist who fought for workers’ rights and child welfare during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. She is considered to be the most influential workers’ rights activist of her time because of her tremendous dedication to helping workers advocate for shorter work weeks, better pay, and unions. Similar to the labor movements themselves, many people look to Mother Jones in an idealized manner — her image is inspiring, but when it comes to her policies, far too many turn a blind eye. In another example of Appalachian resilience, Edith Easterling, an avid anti-poverty, pro-union activist made waves in her community. In Pike County, Kentucky, she and other activists worked to uplift their community and bring power and stability back to the working class. She was so influential that she eventually had to testify before the Kentucky Un-American Activities Committee for her labor organizing efforts where she defended her fellow activists and stood her ground. Edith’s work made a tremendous impact upon her community, and she deserves recognition for her bravery and resilience.
More recently in Appalachia, a group of protesters camped outside of the Holston Valley Medical Center to voice their dissent about a merger that would leave the region without a nearby NICU and a downgraded trauma center. The merger would move both of these facilities 30 minutes away from the current location — a decision that could have fatal consequences as many Appalachians already struggle with inadequate healthcare. In Appalachia, there are 12% less primary care physicians per 100,000 people than in the country overall. Additionally, people in Appalachia struggle with poverty and unemployment — both of these affecting whether or not an individual can even acquire healthcare in the first place. These factors combined make it exponentially more difficult to receive affordable quality healthcare in our region. Although the local hospital did not entirely shut down, this merger resulted in costs increasing and quality of care decreasing. In the end, the merger succeeded and Kingsport, Tennessee was left without necessary services. The protest lasted a total of 257 days. In a region that already faces extreme disparities in access to healthcare, the people of Kingsport were willing to uproot their lives for the better part of a year to protect themselves and their community however they could. The bravery of the Kingsport community is admirable, and it acts as a microcosm for the radical love and care found in Appalachian culture, but being forced to fight for basic necessities by no means should be the norm. It is unacceptable that community members must take to the streets to protect their basic safety needs, especially for the better part of a year, and after protesting for 257 days, the fact that the merger still occurred is frankly outrageous. If you claim to care about classism and support leftist policies, you must include the people of Appalachia.
Appalachia faces a unique set of issues and is an incredibly complex region. Our culture is deeply rooted in labor movements and anti-imperialism, but it has been co-opted by consumerism and failed by empty promises. Conservative politicians pander to poor rural communities by promising the return of jobs only to outsource them to maximise profits, leaving Appalachians to fend for themselves. They then blame immigrants for “stealing our jobs” when, in reality, the only enemy of ours should be the corporations and politicians who are complicit in outsourcing labor. They promote the “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps” fallacy and trick us into believing that there is an individualistic path to success as opposed to giving us the resources that could help us care for each other and thrive as a community. This is not to say, though, that liberal politicians treat us any better than conservatives. Liberal politicians have habitually dismissed us altogether as a region. By decidedly labeling us as “conservative territory” and, therefore, making no effort to help us due to partisan politics, these figures have also failed our communities in their complacency and apathy. Based on this proven track record from both parties, it is abundantly clear that neither of these groups has any intention of helping us. Leftist spaces, however, offer promising solutions to many of the problems that we face. Policies such as the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, free tuition for colleges and trade schools, and more would help to alleviate us of so many of the issues that we are currently facing. Considering our longstanding history of workers’ rights, intersectional activism, and progressive grassroots movements, the principles of leftism seem to align most closely with the Appalachian ideals. Before Appalachia becomes more openly comfortable with the idea of leftism, it is imperative that leftist spaces take a hard look at the ways in which they perpetuate classism towards our communities, whether intentional or not, and actively show their support for communities like ours. With 30.7% of my community living in poverty, we do not have time for debate and hypotheticals. We need support now.
