The

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...

region of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

is home to a significant Appalachian population, one of the largest populations of

Urban Appalachians Urban Appalachians are people from Appalachia who are living in metropolitan areas outside of the region. Because migration has been occurring for decades, most are not first generation migrants from the region but are long-term city dwellers. ...

in the United States. The most common state of origin for Appalachian people in Detroit is

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 to ...

, while many others came from Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, and elsewhere in the Appalachia region. The Appalachian population has historically been centered in the

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 th ...

neighborhoods of

Brightmoor Brightmoor is a roughly neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, near the northwest border of the city.Springwells, Corktown and North Corktown, as well as the Detroit suburbs of

Hazel Park Hazel Park is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As a part of Metro Detroit, the city shares its southern border with the city of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,422. Hazel Park was incorporated as a c ...

, Ypsilanti,

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) **List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Plac ...

, and

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

. Beginning after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Appalachian people moved to Detroit in large numbers seeking jobs. Between 1940 and 1970, approximately 3.2 million Appalachian and Southern migrants settled in the Midwest, particularly in large cities such as Detroit and Chicago. This massive influx of rural Appalachian people into Northern and

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

cities has been called 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 ...

". The culture of Metro Detroit has been significantly influenced by the

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

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 aspect ...

, and politics of Appalachia. The majority of people of Appalachian heritage in Metro Detroit are Christian and either white or black, though Appalachian people can be of any race, ethnicity, or religion.

History

Between 1940 and 1960, around 7 million Appalachian people migrated to the North. During World War II, Appalachian people worked in war factories and automobile manufacturing, in part due to the decline of

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

in Appalachia. The

Immigration Act of 1924 The Immigration Act of 1924, or Johnson–Reed Act, including the Asian Exclusion Act and National Origins Act (), was a United States federal law that prevented immigration from Asia and set quotas on the number of immigrants from the Eastern ...

, which restricted immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe and Asia, also created a shortage of working-class immigrants in Northern cities, a role that was filled by many working-class Appalachian migrants. Northern industrialists believed Appalachian people to possess mechanical aptitude and a

Protestant work ethic The Protestant work ethic, also known as the Calvinist work ethic or the Puritan work ethic, is a work ethic concept in theology, sociology, economics and history which emphasizes that diligence, discipline, and frugality are a result of a person ...

, and felt that Appalachian people lacked the political radicalism and unionism often found among Eastern and Southern European immigrants. While "Hillbilly Highway" is a metaphor, many Appalachian people who arrived in Detroit literally traveled along "Hillbilly Highways" such as

U.S. Route 23 } U.S. Route 23 or U.S. Highway 23 (US 23) is a major north–south U.S. Highway between Jacksonville, Florida, and Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is an original 1926 route which originally reached only as far south as Portsmouth, Ohio, and has sinc ...

and

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

. In Chad Berry's ''Southern Migrants, Northern Exiles'', he claims that 66,000 white Appalachian people resided in Detroit in 1930. Many were from

Eastern Kentucky Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

, particularly Harlan County. 1,000 people a year left Harlan County each year in the 1950s, so many that a bus line ran daily departures from Harlan to Detroit. Many Appalachian people settled in southwest Detroit. Southwestern Detroit was once a predominantly Polish neighborhood, before Appalachian people became predominant. The area is now referred to by locals as Mexicantown and boasts a large

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

immigrant population, particularly because many of the Appalachian people have aged and died, moved to the suburbs, or moved back to the South.

Discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

Poor Appalachian people who arrived in Metro Detroit were often looked down upon with disdain. Appalachian people were stereotyped as backwards, their homes were considered eyesores, and landlords sometimes refused to rent to them believing that the neighborhood would become an Appalachian enclave. In a 1953 survey conducted by

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

, Detroit residents were asked to identify "undesirable people" in the city; "Poor Southern whites" and "hillbillies" were tied at the top with criminals and gangsters as the most undesirable, being considered more undesirable than "Negroes", "drifters", and "transients". In a socioeconomic research study conducted by Roscoe Griffin that spanned from 1945 to 1950 on households of the Pine Mountain School district in Kentucky (made up of migrants), unique characteristics were identified that alienated the community from modern communities. Griffin noted two characteristics of the community, indifference towards developing formal organizations/lack of participation in existing ones and an overall lack of resistance to the severe widespread poverty in their community. Referring to this situation, Griffin suggested cultural, geographical, and religious constraint explanations. Appalachian people faced ridicule for their appearance and accent. Due to social exclusion and cultural affinity, many Appalachian people decided to live amongst other Appalachians in tight-knit communities, these communities still exist today in small cities such as Hazel Park. Due to the insularity of these Appalachian communities, some of the children and grandchildren of people from Appalachia still speak with a strong Appalachian/Southern accent.

Culture

Labor unionism A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

In a 1935 article in ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'', Louis Adamic wrote that "hill-billies" were believed by Detroit auto manufacturing employers to be "safe" – that is, not inclined to unionize. Adamic reports that automotive companies were recruiting during the early 1930s with the belief that these rural people had not been influenced by ideas of unionism.Id. The article goes on to report that the hill-billies were looked down upon by almost everyone due to their extremely low standard of living, lack of familiarity with modern plumbing, and because they were seen as taking away jobs from the old-time automotive workers. The advent of assembly lines meant that unskilled workers could ably perform tasks at manufacturing plants, which made Appalachian migrants adequate employees for the work.

Migrant identity

The Appalachian people who migrated to Detroit (and in smaller numbers to Flint) in order to work in the automotive plants gained an identity distinct from the one that they possessed in their home state. In their home states, people saw themselves as distinct from those living in other parts of the state, or in a different part of the South. Once they migrated to Michigan, they were lumped together as southern white laborers, and a group consciousness based on that label emerged. Migrants from all over Appalachia began to feel a social solidarity with each other, preferring to work and live beside other Southerners than with Northerners. It was believed that the Appalachian migrants assimilated less rapidly than Northern rural migrants because of their group consciousness and the persistence of certain southern regional attitudes, and an acute awareness of the difference between themselves and other native-born white Americans. Because the Appalachian migrants didn't have cultural context for situations they encountered in northern industrial cities, their reactions were dictated by their rural southern lives and attitudes. During holidays and lay-offs, most of the migrants went back to their old homes. During lay-offs in Flint, MI, as many as 35% of the migrants would return to their old homes. While many Appalachian people in Detroit are white Appalachians, and Appalachian identity is often stereotyped as exclusively white, there is a large Black Appalachian population in Detroit. Because Appalachia is stereotyped as an all-white region, the identities and narratives of Black, Latino, Indigenous and other Appalachians of color are frequently neglected, marginalized, and obscured. Detroit and Chicago were leading destinations for Black Appalachian people, many of whom previously worked in coal mining.

Cuisine

Beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

are an important element of

Appalachian cuisine Appalachian may refer to: * Appalachian Mountains, a major mountain range in eastern United States and Canada * Appalachian Trail, a hiking trail in the eastern United States * The people of Appalachia and their culture ** Appalachian Americans, e ...

in Metro Detroit. Beans were important to Appalachian people, who often came from rural poverty, because they were cheap, nutritious, and could be easily farmed in a backyard lot. Beans are often served in

chafing dish A chafing dish is a metal cooking or serving pan on a stand with an alcohol burner holding chafing fuel below it. It is used for cooking at table, notably in Gueridon service, or as a food warmer for keeping dishes at a buffet warm. Historically ...

es.

Soup beans Soup beans is a term common in the Southern United States, particularly the regions around the Appalachian Mountains. Soup beans are usually served with cornbread, greens (such as boiled cabbage, cauliflower, or sauerkraut and sausage), and potatoe ...

are commonly served at meals either as the main course or as a side dish, often using

Pinto bean The pinto bean () is a variety of common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''). In Spanish they are called , literally "painted bean" (compare pinto horse). It is the most popular bean by crop production in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United Stat ...

s or

Navy bean The navy bean, haricot, pearl haricot bean, Boston bean, white pea bean, or pea bean is a variety of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris'') native to the Americas, where it was first domesticated. It is a dry white bean that is smaller than ...

s. Other common foods in Appalachian cuisine include cornbread, fried cabbage, and

stack cake Stack cake, also called apple stack cake, is a stack of cakes layered with filling. Traditionally the cakes are made in a cast iron skillet, but they can be baked as well. The cake batter itself is made with molasses, and makes a crisp cake, simi ...

Music

Metro Detroit has long been home to a thriving bluegrass and

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ( tack piano) ...

scene. Several bars and restaurants in Detroit such as Red's Park-Inn bar, Telway Diner, Alice's Bar, and George's Famous Coney Island have reputations as hang-out spots for Appalachian/Southern people. In 1973, the New York Times reported that some 25 "hillbilly heaven" bars existed in Detroit, the closest thing to an Appalachian community center.

Bobby Bare Robert Joseph Bare Sr. (born April 7, 1935) is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for the songs "Marie Laveau", " Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician. Early ca ...

, a popular country singer from Ohio, had a hit song with "Detroit City" in 1963 which described the homesickness and culture shock commonly experienced by Southern migrants.

Literature

Harriette Simpson Arnow's novel

The Dollmaker ''The Dollmaker'' is a 1984 American made-for-television drama film starring Jane Fonda and based on the 1954 novel of the same title written by Harriette Arnow. It was originally broadcast on ABC on May 13, 1984. Fonda was awarded the Prime ...

is a fictional account of an Appalachian family's migration from rural Kentucky to Detroit during World War II. The work has been praised for its realistic depiction of working-class life.

has been adapted into a 1984 made-for-television drama film starring Jane Fonda.

Politics

Many rural white migrants from Appalachia and the South carried deep-rooted Southern racist beliefs towards African-Americans and others.Sitkoff, "The Detroit Race Riot 1943" Racists among the white Appalachian population feared that African-Americans were competitors for jobs and housing. Working-class Black Appalachian and Southern people in Metro Detroit were multiply oppressed, facing both racism and classism. Poor and working-class Black Appalachian people competed for low-income jobs with European immigrants and white Appalachians, while facing discriminatory barriers and second-class status from landlords and employers. The white racism that divided the working class in Detroit culminated in the 1943 Detroit race riot. On the evening of June 20, 1943, youths in

Belle Isle Park Belle Isle Park, known simply as Belle Isle (), is a island park in Detroit, Michigan, developed in the late 19th century. It consists of Belle Isle, an island in the Detroit River, as well as several surrounding islets. The U.S.-Canada border ...

began to riot, with the unrest spreading across the city. 25 African-Americans were murdered and hundreds were injured, mostly at the hands of white police officers. The riot was suppressed when 6,000 federal troops were ordered into the city.

Religion

A 1973 ''New York Times'' article claimed that churches were a unifying gathering place for Appalachian people, referring to "the city's fundamentalist churches that perpetuate the frontier faith of the hills", alluding to Protestant and

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

denominations of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

such as

Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

which involve emotionally expressive forms of worship,

faith healing Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...

, and belief in literal notions of Heaven and Hell. Faith Pentecostal chapel in Hazel Park was cited as one of these churches.

Notable Appalachian-Americans from Metro Detroit

Harriette Simpson Arnow Harriette Simpson Arnow (July 7, 1908 – March 22, 1986) was an American novelist and historian, who lived in Kentucky and Michigan. Arnow has been called an expert on the people of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, but she herself loved citie ...

, a Kentucky-born novelist known for her writings about the people of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

References

Bibliography

*Wolcott, Victoria W. Remaking Respectability: African-American Women in Interwar Detroit . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001.

External links

Bobby Bare- Detroit City

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

When Mountaineers Were America’s Migration Crisis
Expatalachians {{Appalachian people African-American history in Detroit

Appalachian culture in Illinois Appalachian European-American culture in Metro Detroit History of Detroit Rural culture in the United States Urbanization White American culture in Michigan