The Appalachian Diaspora, How It Can Help Reinvigorate the Region: Expatalachians

- Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
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- 'How the Hillbilly Diaspora Can Help Appalachia, By Nick Brumfield on May 18, *2021, expatalachians.com,

Young people are leaving Appalachia, and everyone’s talking about it. Just last month, West Virginia announced its “Ascend WV” program to lure young professionals to the state, and the program isn’t the only one. Meanwhile, supporters and critics of the state’s recent legislative session often framed their proposals in terms of attracting and keeping young people in the state. In West Virginia and elsewhere in Appalachia, declining population numbers raise fears of fewer tax dollars, less economic activity, and a further decline in the region’s quality of life. Trying to reverse these trends is a worthy endeavor.

However, in only thinking of departing young people as wayward youth who need to be lured back or replaced, policymakers may be ignoring one of the region’s most valuable assets: the Appalachian diaspora.

For over a hundred years, young people have left Appalachia by the millions to make a better life elsewhere, often becoming leading figures in their chosen fields. However, as evidenced by the very existence of a term like expatalachian, they don’t forget where they come from. In consciously including these expatalachians in plans for economic development, policymakers may be surprised at the diverse skills, resources, and networks they can draw on to help reinvigorate the region.

What is the Appalachian diaspora? Simply put, a diaspora is a scattered community of people who have left their original home. Often, the term is used to refer to people living outside their country of birth, with India, Mexico, and China each having diasporas of over 10 million citizens living around the world. In a wider sense, a diaspora can also refer to these migrants’ descendants, with Ireland’s diaspora comprising some 70 million people of Irish descent across the globe.

As I’ve explained elsewhere, the history of a distinctly Appalachian diaspora extends back over a century. Attracted by the promise of a better life elsewhere, over 7 million Appalachians left the region between 1940 and 1970 for Midwest and East Coast cities, and more have flocked to the Sunbelt and the West Coast in recent decades. Although the exact number of these migrants and their descendants is difficult to count, many of them have gone on to become some of Appalachia’s most notable personalities, with people like Jennifer Garner, Chuck Yeager, and Katherine Johnson making international names for themselves...http://expatalachians.com/how-the-hillbilly-diaspora-can-develop-appalachia

- Related:

- Climate Change and the Coming Appalachian Land Rush, 2021,
http://expatalachians.com/climate-change-and-the-coming-appalachia-land-rush

- Appalachians Should Be Skeptical of Venture Capital, 2021,
http://expatalachians.com/appalachians-should-be-skeptical-of-venture-capital

- The Case for Moving to Appalachia After the Pandemic, 2020,
http://expatalachians.com/the-case-for-moving-to-appalachia-after-the-pandemic