In Appalachia, we have a different way of life. We find that values we hold can differ from most of the United States and world. We are used to family time and traditions passed down from generation to generation, serving as big events and social gathering for our families.
In my family pre-COVID, we would get together in October and make apple butter over an open fire using the recipe handed down through generations. This apple butter tastes better than any jelly, jam or commercialized apple butter you can make.
Among the individual people who make up Appalachians and the culture, a rift has occurred with political beliefs and the ever-growing diversity and change. I am the first biracial grandchild in my bloodline, something that has proven that racism is not always rooted in these hollers and hills. Appalachia has brought me a sense of welcome into the culture that I am from; never letting me leave the coalfields my family is from, that would be void of canned food and treats, and making sure that I get to participate just as much as any other kid.
Politically, I fall between the line. I feel like the 2016 election obliterated a lot of moral between parties in Appalachia. However, I believe that with time we can get back to the good bi-partisan, middle ground efforts of the people in Appalachia.
However, maybe we need to also root out the way we talk about Appalachians, the South in general, and our culture. We are intelligent, hard-working, loving and hospitable. We go from 9 to 5, and often longer, just trying to make it.
We regularly are trying to fight homelessness, joblessness, people from other parts of the worlds moving here for cheaper living or to have a “vacation home” in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains, and it is forgotten that we are this region’s people and this is our heritage at stake. I believe in a world where one day all of the country can get along, but right now, let’s work on rooting out our biases and the stereotypical treatment others, who we may feel are less than us, but deserve dignity and respect. It starts there.
