We are situated within a stunning natural environment; the Appalachian Mountains shelter one of the most biologically diverse temperate rainforests on earth. Neighborhoods, carefully woven between the hills, along with narrow hollers, are an aesthetic delicacy. The landscape has cultivated a clearly definable regional culture, complete with musical, linguistic, and culinary keystones. The region, though, has also been guided by the fate of the American frontier. As a relatively Western region with plentiful natural resources, Appalachia has been strongly molded by individual ambition, corporate interest, timber and coal.
Also central is a strong history of union activity and collective self-organizing. Such activism was rewarded during the middle years of the twentieth century, but over the last few decades mass layoffs chiefly caused by coal mine automation have resulted in a local poverty rate of around twenty seven percent, more than twice the national average. Despite our nation's unprecedented bounty, the people of Eastern Kentucky and Southwest Virginia face perhaps an even bleaker economic outlook than ever. Approximately thirty-seven percent of local children and twenty-six percent of elders live in poverty. Nationally, justice advocates decry the nineteen percent of American kids whose families are impoverished.
The Median family income in the region is around $18,500, about half the national median of $38,900. The local tax base is further eroded by a history of taxing coal reserves owned by outside corporations at a rate that is less than one tenth of the rates for other real property.
Educational attainment is low. Roughly half of our district's residents older than 25 do not have high school diplomas or their equivalent. Eight percent of the population has bachelor's degrees.
With a background in public health, I can't help but view wellness as vital to one's quality of life, and the health statistics for people in this region of Kentucky are flooring. We have the state's lowest proportion of people who are covered by health insurance, the highest motor vehicle accident rate, and among the highest suicide and homicide rates for young people. The area tops the rest of Kentucky in somoking, lung cancer, obestity, and hgeart disease rates. Seventy six percent of people report leading a sedentary life; in other words, they spend less than sixty minutes a week walking, gardening, or otherwise moving actively.
The region is homogenous ethnically. In the four countries Appalshop works with primarily, about 98 percent is Caucasian. Because Appalachians' social and economic prospects resemble those e of disenfranchised groups of color across the United States, a central challenge of our work lies in revealing and building inter ethnic synergy. In a region so solidly Anglo and Christian (over seventy-five percent of Kentuckians identify as Baptist of Southern Baptist, and ninety percent as Christian) dispelling the notion of Other and unveiling links and commonalities across groups is novel, yet necessary.
Julia de Bruicker, former managing director, American Festival Project, April 2000.
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