The Appalachian Identity as Activists versus Industrial Hegemony
Matthew Penaranda
ERH 303WX 01 SSI
June 16, 2015
Help Received: None
Matthew Penaranda
ERH 303WX 01 SSI
The Appalachian Identity as Activists versus Industrial Hegemony
Throughout the readings, I was surprised to find women so prevalent in spearheading activism in Appalachia. I think extensive minority participation especially in response to the inhumanity of the industrial system is a characteristic of activism almost exclusive to Appalachia whose cooperation between races and genders would not again be realized until the civil rights movements of the late twentieth century. So what was the factor that allowed, or forced out of necessity, the people of Appalachia to recognize women and minorities in ways unprecedented in American society? Ironically I would make the argument that the very thing that hoped to impose such divisions of race and gender was the very thing that pushed them to need to come together. As an aspiring English and Rhetoric major, I am very much concerned with and aware of Michel Foucault’s social theory of panopticism. The effects of the industrial system in Appalachia, especially the coal mining and textile industries, is an almost epitomic example of the application of panoptic mechanisms of control. This essay will first briefly observe the origins of the stereotypes of Appalachia as well as making a correlation with the perpetuation and exploitation of those stereotypes paralleling the conception of industrialism in Appalachia.
Our perspectives of the identity of Appalachia are not only influenced by the civic discourse of VMI, the media and hollywood have obviously contributed to shaping our perspectives of the Appalachian identity. Movies such as “Deliverance” found its way onto the list and if that is not an uncommon view of Appalachians then I do not think I have to tell you how unfortunate that is. Once an archetype or label is established, it becomes incorporated into the language and once popularized in the civic discourse enough to become canon then regions such as Appalachia become associated with all the negative connotations of the sort of words we attribute to them. The Kentucky Cycle as well as other portrayals of Appalachia discussed throughout this course are by no means the first instances of the mountain man or hillbilly stereotype.
As previously mentioned, the origins of the Appalachian stereotypes actually predate the invasion of industrialism. Considering the cultural rhetoric of Appalachia, there seems to be a precedence of their identity being victim to the perspective of those outside of the Appalachian community. I first started to observe the effects of outsider perspective in consideration of Dwight B. Biling’s outlook on The Kentucky Cycle and his critical attitude towards the critics of Robert Schenkkan’s play. Biling’s was not only concerned with Schenkkan’s portrayal of Appalachians but the apparent lack of outcry from critics and the general public in lieu of its success. The lack of consideration for the harmful portrayal of the Appalachians in the play might simply be explained by the phenomenon of them being outsiders desensitized to the stereotypical images of “mountain men” as personified by the characters of the play. The idea of a region of feuds, moonshine stills, mine wars, environmental destruction, joblessness, and hopelessness are all characteristics of the Appalachian stereotype that In class, we discussed how Schenkkan may have had good intentions and had wanted to foster sympathy for Appalachia, which he may have in terms of audiences emotional responses to the play, but the play may have been more harmful in its perpetuation of stereotypes. Bilings outlines his book Back Talk from Appalachia as an enlightening first hand account from Appalachian scholars in confronting the canonical mainstream that is inclined to unconsciously accept the portrayals of the mountain man stereotype. In my opinion, Back Talk from Appalachia’s insider or firsthand Appalachian scholar perspective is an important rhetorical device that has been long awaited and necessary to confronting the stereotypes of Appalachia. When we consider the preponderance of stereotypes towards the Appalachians, they have historically been the result of outsider perspective while their own advocacy of themselves has always been dismissed. In all other cases, outsiders have written about or depicted Appalachians in the same manner as The Kentucky Cycle or in the movie “Deliverance.” At least in my own experience with the culture, one other exception to the lack of first hand Appalachian perspective is in the case of the labor wars in response to industrialism.
Alright cool this essay is finally up and out of the obligatory general background stuff. Discussing no less listing the adversities faced by Appalachia could in itself meet word requirement but I wan to focus on industrialisms attempts to fuel categorical divisions amidst race and gender in Appalachia and their resolve to that attempted control. This topic is a point of interest for me because I have always been intrigued by resistance to control and the rhetoric of protest. The cooperation of Appalachians throughout the labor wars is exactly the sort of advocacy for themselves that is necessary to recreating the Appalachian identity instead of on the behalf of outsider writers, playwrights, and directors.
Todd Snyder says in the introduction of The Rhetoric of Appalachian Identity that Appalachians have been “told his(their) own story from the perspective of others” (1). The labor wars in my opinion were a pivotal turning point that was the beginnings of them reshaping their identity. Now that we have moved on to the whole industrialism thing I should probably give some background information on that briefly.
Eller points out that “outsiders from middle- or upper-middle-class backgrounds who established the company town system in Appalachia and wielded enormous political and economic power in the coal fields and beyond” (68). Well this is a familiar narrative; once again Appalachia is victim to the systems as outsiders similarly to them being caricatured by the media in past and present media. The paradigm shift from an independent and egalitarian agricultural society to an industrial machine was destructive towards the Appalachian status quo. Simply consider the nature of the industrial complex compared to farming culture; in the new order, Appalachians become an expendable and literal “human resource” in place of their positions as self-sustaining farmers. The power dynamic shifts in favor of the coal mine and textile factory owners who have effectively made Appalachia dependent on industrialized society’s social and economic systems. The company town system is the pinnacle of panoptic control in which every aspect of the workers’ lives were at the mercy of their capitalist authorities. The caveat to this system is that despite their limited capacity to fight back, the extent of their desperation in response to the increasing poverty and inequality in the factory systems actually caused early protests and unions because they felt they had no other choice.
Si Kahn reflects on the nature of the region in lieu of industrialism saying Appalachia was and is a “a seedbed for resistance to unjust authority for artistic, musical, and scholarly creativity for democratic unions and community organizations” (22). The empowered and activist identity of Appalachia is the one I am most interested in, the identity that they forged for themselves ironically in response to the very systems that invaded and attempted to exploit their preceding identity as simple mountain men and hillbillies who could be exploited for cheap labor.
Earlier I mentioned the surprisingly extensive involvement of minorities by race and by gender in the activism of Appalachia despite the divisions that industrialism attempted to impose. Division is one facet of panoptic control that was coupled with extensive discipline and surveillance which were all characteristic of factory towns. Pamela Twist observes that “the coal operators’ efforts to completely control the workforce and keep it fragmented, ironically led to the emergence of a strong class consciousness that crossed racial lines” (97). Organizations such as The United Mine Workers of America were thus more successful in pursuing biracial unionism here, in contrast to its efforts in the north and west (Lewis). My case study of the life of Ernest Rise McKinney is values evidence of the involvement of minority races across various Appalachian industries. Whether it was originally for the sake of manpower, unions were not uncommon to be open membership unions opposed to segregated inclusiveness. The rhetoric of including African Americans not only increased their manpower but also established a moral high ground that shed light on the inequalities of the industrial workplace beyond unfair wages.
Multiracial involvement was not the only unorthodox decision of labor unions. Women in positions of power as well as being faces of the movement are an especially noteworthy rhetoric of Appalachian activism. There are several advantages to the involvement of women in Appalachian activism. For one thing, it never looked good when there were casualties amongst strikers but especially when they were women. Ella May Wiggins is amongst the most well known martyrs for labor war activism. Not only was her death particularly violent resulting in a lasting impression, but also her life’s work’s progressive nature served as a blueprint for the structure of unions. Mother Jones was another prominent female figure in union activism. Mother Jones’ self proclaimed “Mother” title evoked the characteristics of the most respected position available to her gender role during the Victorian era she lived. Mother Jones effectively established herself as a rhetorical metaphor for unions as motherly as opposed to being seen as simply agitators and deadbeats who felt entitled to more in the workplace. Unions identifying themselves as hospitable refuges that took in the exploited workers not unlike a virtuous motherly figure might take care of a stranger on the street created an ethos for unions that the industrial system could not persecute without complicating their own public images. Women defying their gender roles and the status quo of the establishments are a feat that was almost unheard of outside of the unions of Appalachia because the structured lifestyle of urban society did not have the same sort of hardships for women to respond to.
I hope that this essay has been enlightening in considering the rhetoric and necessity of a firsthand voice from Appalachia. The origins of Appalachian stereotypes may be attributed to outside perspective on the region and the enduring stereotypes can be credited to the ignorant depictions from outsiders despite their good intentions as in the case of playwright Robert Schenkkan. The irony of the invasion of the oppressive industrial system is that it pushed Appalachia to react and defy its stereotypes in some ways paralleling certain womens’ defiance of the gender roles placed on them. An often-overlooked Appalachian identity is its hopeful autonomous identity that was born in response to grievous injustices that came with industrial systems in the region.
Works Cited
“Appalachia.” International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (June 12, 2015).
Billings, Dwight B., Gurney Norman, and Katherine Ledford. Introduction.Back Talk from Appalachia: Confronting Stereotypes. Lexington: U of Kentucky, 2001. N. pag. Print.
Eller, Ronald D. 1982. Miners, Millhands, and Mountaineers: Industrialization of the Appalachian South, 1880–1930. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.
Lewis, Ronald L. 1987. Black coal miners in America: Race, class, and community confl ict 1780 – 1980. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky.
SI, KAHN. “Organizing, Culture, And Resistance In Appalachia: Past, Present, And Future.” Journal Of Appalachian Studies 18.1/2 (2012): 8-24. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 June 2015.
Snyder, Todd. The Rhetoric of Appalachian Identity. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Twiss, Pamela. “Ernest Rice Mckinney: African American Appalachian, Social Worker, Radical Labor Organizer And Educator.” Journal Of Appalachian Studies 10.1/2 (2004): 95-110. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 June 2015.