Stereotypes Of Appalachia Obscure A Diverse Picture

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/04/03/298892382/stereotypes-of-appalachia-obscure-a-diverse-picture
Stereotypes Of Appalachia Obscure A Diverse Picture
by Sarah Baird for CodeSwitch
April 06, 2014 5:18 AM ET

Correction April 7, 2014
A previous version of this post misidentified the Appalachian State University professor who petitioned the Library of Congress. He is Fred Hay, not Frank Hays.

(excerpt)
When policymakers and news organizations need a snapshot of rural poverty in the United States, Appalachia — the area of land stretching from the mountains of southern New York through northern Alabama — is the default destination of choice. Poverty tours conducted by presidents from Lyndon Johnson to Richard Nixon, almost every member of the Kennedy clan, and religious leaders like Jesse Jackson have all painted the portrait of Appalachia the same way: poor, backward, and white.

While the economic despair and major health epidemics are an unsettling reality for the region, a glaring omission has been made from the "poverty porn" images fed to national audiences for generations: Appalachia's people of color.

"When we tell the truth about Appalachia, it's only then that we tell the real story about who we are," said Aaron Thompson, executive vice president and chief academic officer for the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

Growing up as an African-American outside Manchester, Ky. — a coal town home to the lowest per capita income in the state — Thompson has become one of the few outspoken role models for young people of color in his mountain home. "There's no one story of Appalachia, no one voice. It's time for everyone to feel like they can speak up, like their story is important."... MORE