The city of
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
includes a significant
Appalachian population. The Appalachian community has historically been centered in the neighborhoods of
Hampden,
Pigtown,
Remington
Remington may refer to:
Organizations
* Remington Arms, American firearms manufacturer
* Remington Rand, American computer manufacturer
* Remington Products, American manufacturer of shavers and haircare products
* Remington College, American c ...
,
Woodberry,
Lower Charles Village,
Highlandtown, and
Druid Hill Park
Druid Hill Park is a urban park in northwest Baltimore, Maryland. Its boundaries are marked by Druid Park Drive (north), Swann Drive and Reisterstown Road (west and south), and the Jones Falls Expressway / Interstate 83 (east).[Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...]
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
, and
Middle River. The culture of Baltimore has been profoundly influenced by
Appalachian culture
Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Can ...
,
dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
, folk traditions, and
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
. People of Appalachian heritage may be of any race or religion. Most Appalachian people in Baltimore are
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
or
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
, though some are
Native American or from other ethnic backgrounds. White Appalachian people in Baltimore are typically descendants of early
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
,
Scottish,
Scotch-Irish, and
Welsh settlers.
A
migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
of
White Southerners
White Southerners, from the Southern United States, are considered an ethnic group by some historians, sociologists and journalists, although this categorization has proven controversial, and other academics have argued that Southern identity do ...
from
Appalachia occurred from the 1920s to the 1960s, alongside a large-scale
migration of African-Americans from the
Deep South and migration of
Native Americans from the
Southeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
such as the
Lumbee
The Lumbee are a Native American people primarily centered in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland and Scotland counties in North Carolina. They also live in surrounding states and Baltimore, Maryland.
The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-rec ...
and the
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
. These out-migrations caused the heritage of Baltimore to be deeply influenced by Appalachian and
Southern cultures.
History
In the early 20th century, many Appalachian farm youth from eastern and
northern West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
migrated to Baltimore, following the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Many Appalachian migrants settled in the neighborhood of Hampden due to the abundance of jobs provided by mills. Hampden was originally created as a residential community for workers at the various mills along the
Jones Falls
The Jones Falls is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 stream in Maryland. It is impounded to create Lake Roland before running through the city of Baltim ...
. Most of the Appalachian people in Hampden hailed from
Eastern Kentucky,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
, and
Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...
. This influx of predominantly white Appalachian hillfolk cemented Hampden's reputation as a white working-class neighborhood.
During the
Great Depression, thousands of white residents of the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
migrated to Baltimore as well as to other industrial northern cities such as
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
,
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
,
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
, and
Muncie, Indiana. This migration of white Appalachian and Southern people paralleled the
Great Migration of African Americans from Appalachia and the South during the same time period. The great white migration from Appalachia has become known as the
Hillbilly Highway In the United States, the Hillbilly Highway is the out-migration of Appalachians from the Appalachian Highlands region to industrial cities in northern, midwestern, and western states, primarily in the years following World War II in search of bette ...
. During these migrations, approximately 11,000,000 Southerners migrated north; approximately two thirds of them white and one-third of them black.
Appalachian migrants to Baltimore were negatively affected by
poverty,
unemployment
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...
,
welfare dependency
Welfare dependency is the state in which a person or household is reliant on government welfare benefits for their income for a prolonged period of time, and without which they would not be able to meet the expenses of daily living. The United St ...
,
mechanization
Mechanization is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery. In an early engineering text a machine is defined as follows:
In some fields, mechanization includes the ...
of industry, and the decline of the
coal industry. Baltimore's factories filled with Appalachian economic migrants between 1910 and 1960, especially in the years during and following World War II. White working-class Appalachian families from the hills of Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia created Appalachian
diaspora enclaves
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
throughout Baltimore and many other cities. So many Black Appalachian and Southern people settled in West Baltimore during the Great Migration that there were whole communities and congregations that earned nicknames such as "Little Virginia", "Little North Carolina", and "Little South Carolina."
Armistead Gardens
Armistead Gardens is a neighborhood in the Northeast District of Baltimore. It is located north of Pulaski Highway and east of Erdman Avenue, between Herring Run Park (northeast) and the East District neighborhood of Orangeville (southwest).
Ar ...
in East Baltimore, sometimes referred to as "the white ghetto", was originally built by the
Housing Authority of Baltimore City as
public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
for
white people
White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.
Description of populations as ...
coming to work in industries supplying
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. Most of these white workers were from Appalachian states such as
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
, and
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
and came to Baltimore to work at the
Glenn L. Martin Company and other major defense plants.
During and following World War II, many Southern and Appalachian workers also settled in
Sparrows Point
Sparrow's Point is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, adjacent to Dundalk. Named after Thomas Sparrow, landowner, it was the site of a very large industrial complex owned by Bethlehem Steel, known for steelm ...
, an industrial area just outside of Baltimore city. These migrants came to work for the
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...
plant and largely hailed from rural areas and mining towns of West Virginia and
Central Pennsylvania
South Central Pennsylvania is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the fourteen counties of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, and York. Portions of wes ...
. Many descendants of these migrants still live in the area, particularly in Dundalk, Essex, Middle River, and Armistead Gardens.
In 1984, 1,100 households of Appalachian heritage lived in the neighborhood of Remington. Many of these families traced their origins back to coal towns in
Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...
and hollows in southern
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
. These coal-mining families settled in Baltimore in the 1950s and 1960s, searching for better jobs and better socioeconomic conditions than their parents and grandparents generations had access to. Many of the Appalachian people who settled in Remington worked in factories and mills upon moving to Baltimore. By the 1980s, many of the factories and mills had shut down, resulting in high levels of unemployment. Few wished to relocate back to Appalachia, where economic conditions were even worse. One-third of Remington lived in poverty during the early 1980s, many of them under the age of 18. The majority of Appalachian children in Remington at this time did not graduate high school. Due to low voter turn-out, poor Appalachian whites in Remington had little political clout.
Baltimore was a major destination for
Appalachian African-Americans, with many coming from
Central and
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
,
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Upstate South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, and
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
.
Culture
Baltimore has a long and distinguished tradition of bluegrass music. The
Baltimore–Washington region is home to a thriving bluegrass music community. The bluegrass scene began in the 1930s, as Appalachian migrants to Baltimore brought their musical traditions with them. Following World War II, Baltimore was known as the capital of bluegrass. One of the first breakout bluegrass groups in Baltimore was the
Stoney Mountain Boys, the first bluegrass band to play at
Carnegie Hall.
Since 2013, the annual
Charm City Bluegrass Festival has been held to celebrate the Appalachian musical tradition in Baltimore. In 2015,
McFarland & Company published a book by Tim Newby titled
Bluegrass in Baltimore, which provides a detailed history of Baltimore's bluegrass scene.
One of the most well-known bluegrass musicians in Baltimore was
Hazel Dickens
Hazel Jane Dickens (June 1, 1925 – April 22, 2011) was an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist and guitarist. Her music was characterized not only by her high, lonesome singing style, but also by her provocative pro- unio ...
. Dickens was born in
Montcalm, West Virginia
Montcalm is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 726 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV- VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342. Residents of Montcal ...
in 1925 and migrated to Baltimore in the 1950s, following in the footsteps of her siblings who left the coal mines of West Virginia for the better conditions of Baltimore's factories. Her song "Mama's Hand" is a lyrical account of her saying goodbye to her mother before departing to Baltimore by bus. Dickens became the most prominent woman in bluegrass music and was a lifelong champion of the issues of women and the
working-class through her
pro-labor union,
feminist lyrics.
Religion
Christianity
The majority of Southern and Appalachian migrants during the Hillbilly Highway and the Great Migration, both white and black, were
native-born and
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
. This wave of Protestant migrants transformed the religious fabric of northeastern cities such as Baltimore. Previously, the working-class in the northeast was dominated by "
white ethnic
White ethnic is a term used to refer to white Americans who are not Old Stock or White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. "Religion is the most critical factor in separating white ethnics in American society. As Catholics and secondarily Jews ... they were ...
" immigrants from
Catholic countries of Europe. This "Southernizing" of the American working-class resulted in a large increase of both white Protestant and black Protestant populations in the northeast.
Judaism
The construction of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad through the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
to the
Ohio River opened up a large market for the Jewish community of Baltimore, with the expanded economy allowing Jews from Baltimore to establish businesses and communities throughout Appalachia. Deborah Weiner, an historian affiliated with the
Jewish Museum of Maryland, has published a history of
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...
in Appalachia titled ''Coalfield Jews: An Appalachian History''. Weiner, who is Jewish and has lived in West Virginia, chronicles the intersection of Appalachia's coal boom from the 1880s to the 1920s and the wave of
Eastern European Jewish immigrants to the United States during that same time. According to Weiner, Appalachian Jews find it difficult to fully experience their Jewish heritage in rural areas of Appalachia and so many Appalachian Jews have to leave the mountains to visit relatives in Baltimore and other cities such as
New York. Historically, Jewish communities in Appalachia maintained ties to the Jewish community of Baltimore. During the 1920s, the Hebrew Ladies Aid Society of
Welch, West Virginia
Welch is a city located in McDowell County in the State of West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,590 at the 2020 census, however the 2021 census estimate put the population at 1,914, due to the McDowell Prison complex in the north ...
was an annual benefactor to the
matzo
Matzah or matzo ( he, מַצָּה, translit=maṣṣā'','' pl. matzot or Ashk. matzos) is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which '' chametz'' ( leaven ...
fund of Baltimore. A strong link has long existed between the Jews of Appalachian
Western Maryland
upright=1.2, An enlargeable map of Maryland's 23 counties and one independent city
Western Maryland, also known as the Maryland Panhandle, is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that typically consists of Washington, Allegany, and Garre ...
and the Jews of Baltimore. The architecture of
B'er Chayim Temple in
Cumberland is modeled after the earlier Eden Street Synagogue in Baltimore. Many historical items from B'er Chayim are on permanent loan at the Jewish Museum of Maryland.
The Jewish community in Baltimore helped fund the construction of the B’nai Shalom Congregation in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, located in the Appalachian region of
Western Virginia.
Assimilation and discrimination
White Appalachian people in Baltimore have experienced both discrimination against their
socioeconomic
Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their l ...
and
regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
identities, as well as
privilege for their race. White Appalachian people and Southern African Americans (including African-Appalachians) were migrating to Baltimore in great numbers between the 1920s and the 1960s, prompting comparisons between the two groups of newcomers. In a 1960 article from
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...
, J. Anthony Lukas praised the "pride and independence" of Appalachian white people while lamenting that "after two centuries of isolation in the hills, these original Americans are forced into the cities where they find themselves scorned by relative newcomers to these shores." Lukas cited the sociologist Dr. Olive Quinn's racist claim that white Appalachian people's "deep pride in standing on his own two feet" set them apart from the "Southern Negro
hocomes from a paternalistic society in which he is accustomed to accepting hand-me-downs from whites." Many commentators, including Lukas and Salisbury, conflated white Appalachians with white settler heritage and promoted the view that white Appalachians were noble pioneers whose spirit was being degraded by the experiences of
urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
and
industralization.
In his diaries, the Baltimore journalist
H. L. Mencken
Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...
derided the poor white Appalachian and Southern workers in Baltimore's war plants as "oakies, lintheads, hill-billies and other anthropoids" as well as "vermin". He claimed that white Appalachian people were the only pure Anglo-Saxons left in America, but bemoaned that they were in his view "a wretchedly dirty, shiftless, stupid and rascally people." Mencken believed that "filthy poor whites from Appalachia and the Southern Tide-water" engaged in incest and were animalistic in their "habits and ideas".
Discrimination against Appalachian people existed in housing and accommodations, which contributed to Appalachian migrants clustering into enclaves which became known as "hillbilly ghettos".
According to Hazel Dickens, when she was searching for an apartment in 1954 she encountered signs reading "No dogs or hillbillies".
In 1961, the Baltimore section of the
National Council of Jewish Women
The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Founded in 1893, NCJW is self-described as the oldest Jewish women’s grassroots organization in the United States, now comprised by over 180,000 members. As of ...
released a report titled "The Unaccepted Baltimoreans", which was a study of white rural Southern migrants in Baltimore. The report concluded that "within recent years, and especially now, the minority of Southern Mountaineers, an increasing drain on the city's economy, is crying for citizen interest and action." The report also examined the cultural and behavioral characteristics of these migrants and claimed there was an urgent need to promote "
acculturation
Acculturation is a process of social, psychological, and cultural change that stems from the balancing of two cultures while adapting to the prevailing culture of the society. Acculturation is a process in which an individual adopts, acquires and ...
" of Appalachian migrants and to persuade them to abandon their allegedly hostile attitude towards education. The author of the report, Ferne K. Kolodner, was a community and civil rights activist who sought to ameliorate the ails of urban poverty. In the course of the study she visited 40 Appalachian homes in Baltimore and interviewed numerous civic leaders. She believed that Appalachian people had a "limited cultural background" and settled in "cultural islands" at odds with the norms of
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...
life.
Poor white
Poor White is a sociocultural classification used to describe economically disadvantaged Whites in the English-speaking world, especially White Americans with low incomes.
In the United States, Poor White (or Poor Whites of the South for ...
Appalachian residents of
Pigtown report discrimination from the police on the basis of
class. Pigtown's Appalachian population hails from West Virginia and Western Maryland, economic migrants who came after World War II. Some poor white residents of Pigtown allege that while poor
black people in Pigtown and the nearby neighborhood of
Sandtown experience more discrimination due to the combination of
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...
and classism, poor whites nonetheless experience targeting and
harassment from the
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
. According to
David Simon
David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on '' The Wire'' (2002–08).
He worked for '' The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote '' H ...
, a police reporter from the ''Baltimore Sun'', a nickname for Pigtown among police officers is "Billyland", derived from the term
hillbilly, a derogatory term for poor white Appalachians.
Notable Appalachian-Americans from Baltimore
*
Tori Amos
Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...
, a singer-songwriter and pianist.
*
Tony Campbell
Anthony Campbell (born May 7, 1962) is an American former professional National Basketball Association (NBA) player.
Campbell played prep basketball at Teaneck High School in Teaneck, New Jersey, graduating in 1980. A 6'7" small forward out of ...
, an educator and politician who ran unsuccessfully as the Republican Party candidate in the 2018 United States Senate election, attempting to become Maryland's first African-American Senator.
*
Moses H. Cone, a textile entrepreneur, conservationist, and philanthropist of the
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Wes ...
.
*
Cone sisters, Claribel and Etta Cone, wealthy socialite sisters who gathered one of the finest collections of modern French art in the United States.
*
Hazel Dickens
Hazel Jane Dickens (June 1, 1925 – April 22, 2011) was an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist and guitarist. Her music was characterized not only by her high, lonesome singing style, but also by her provocative pro- unio ...
, a bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist and guitarist whose music was characterized by her high, lonesome singing style, as well as her provocative pro-union, feminist songs.
*
Shan Goshorn
Shan Goshorn (July 3, 1957 – December 1, 2018) was an Eastern Band Cherokee artist, who lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her interdisciplinary artwork expresses human rights issues, especially those that affect Native American people today. Goshorn used ...
, an Eastern Band Cherokee artist whose multi-media artwork expresses human rights issues, especially those affecting Native Americans.
*
Thomas McElhiney
Thomas Watkins McElhiney (January 22, 1919, West Union, West Virginia, United States – January 17, 1998, Baltimore) was an American diplomat and UNRWA's Commissioner-General from 1977 to 1979.
McElhiney grew up in West Virginia, New York City ...
, a diplomat and
UNRWA
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 ...
's Commissioner-General from 1977 to 1979.
*
Chet Pancake, a filmmaker, musician, and activist against
mountaintop removal mining
Mountaintop removal mining (MTR), also known as mountaintop mining (MTM), is a form of surface mining at the summit or summit ridge of a mountain. Coal seams are extracted from a mountain by removing the land, or overburden, above the seams. Thi ...
who co-founded the Red Room Collective, the High Zero Foundation, the Charm City Kitty Club and the Transmodern Festival.
*
Blaze Starr
Blaze Starr (born Fannie Belle Fleming; April 10, 1932 – June 15, 2015) was an American stripper and burlesque star. Her vivacious presence and inventive use of stage props earned her the nickname "The Hottest Blaze in Burlesque". She ...
, an American stripper and burlesque star.
See also
*
Appalachian stereotypes
The Appalachian region and its people are mostly viewed negatively due to the "Appalachian Stereotype". According to Stuart Hall, a scholar of cultural studies, a stereotype can be described as using images, tools, and identity to understand why ...
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Appalachian studies
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Bluegrass in Baltimore
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Charm City Bluegrass Festival
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Great Migration (African American)
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Hillbilly
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Hillbilly Highway In the United States, the Hillbilly Highway is the out-migration of Appalachians from the Appalachian Highlands region to industrial cities in northern, midwestern, and western states, primarily in the years following World War II in search of bette ...
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History of the African Americans in Baltimore
The history of African Americans in Baltimore dates back to the 17th century when the first African slaves were being brought to the Province of Maryland. Majority white for most of its history, Baltimore transitioned to having a black majorit ...
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History of the Native Americans in Baltimore
The history of Native Americans in Baltimore and what is now Baltimore dates back at least 12,000 years. As of 2014, Baltimore is home to a small Native American population, centered in East Baltimore. The majority of Native Americans now living ...
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Mountain white
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Poor White
Poor White is a sociocultural classification used to describe economically disadvantaged Whites in the English-speaking world, especially White Americans with low incomes.
In the United States, Poor White (or Poor Whites of the South for ...
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Redneck
''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, ' ...
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Trailer trash
''Trailer trash'' is a derogatory North American English term for poor people living in a trailer or a mobile home. It is particularly used to denigrate white people living in such circumstances
History
In the mid-20th century, poor whites who ...
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Urban Appalachians
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White trash
White trash is a derogatory racial and class-related slur used in American English to refer to poor white people, especially in the rural southern United States. The label signifies a social class inside the white population and especially a ...
References
Bibliography
*Kolodner, Ferne K. ''The Unaccepted Baltimoreans: A Study of the White Southern Rural Migrants, the Culturally Different and Disadvantaged Urbanites'', National Council of Jewish Women (Baltimore Section), 1962.
*Smith, Thaddeus Mundy. ''Where There are No Mountains: Appalachian Culture and Migration to Baltimore'', Brown University, 1987.
*Weiner, Deborah R. ''Coalfield Jews: An Appalachian History'', University of Illinois Press, 2006.
External links
Appalachian Regional Commission - MarylandHazel Dickens Sings "Mama's Hand"
{{Appalachian people
African-American history in Baltimore
Ethnic groups in Baltimore
History of Baltimore
Irish-American culture in Baltimore
Jews and Judaism in Baltimore
Native American history of Maryland
Poverty in Maryland
Rural culture in Maryland
Scotch-Irish American culture in Maryland
Scottish-American culture in Maryland
Welsh-American culture in Maryland
White American culture in Baltimore
Working-class culture in Baltimore