Lost Voices
THE APPALACHIAN REGION
West Virginia is the only state that lies completely
within Appalachia. Defined by mountains, plateaus and
deep river valleys, the state is both beautiful and
harsh. West 
Virginia’s
motto--"Mountaineers Are Always Free"--reflects
the independence and courage of immigrants who first
farmed what had been mainly an Iroquois hunting area.
Hacking away forests to create farms on mountainsides and
in river valleys, these immigrants, in what was then
Western Virginia, created tightly bound communities that
were largely self-sufficient.
These farmers were largely from Celtic backgrounds--Irish, Scot, and Welsh. Some workers of African descent were slaves in the salt mines or the plantations in the eastern part of the state. Booker T. Washington, son of slaves, was born in the valley where the earliest salt works were established. The Civil War deeply divided Western Virginia from the fiercely loyal Confederate state of Virginia. The result was the birth of an independent state in 1863--West Virginia. It is not coincidence that it was in Harper’s Ferry that John Brown launched his attempt to free slaves, for Brown believed they would find refuge in the surrounding mountains of West Virginia.
The Civil War also reorganized the structure of America, shifting the economic center of power from the South to the North. In that reorganization, Appalachia (and West Virginia) were marginalized, as industry by-passed the mountains, and the federal government restricted capital flow by refusing to place a federal bank within Appalachia. The two industries that did develop after the war--timbering and coal mining--were both extractive industries, financed largely by outside investors. The result was a century-long degradation of the environment and the flow of profits away from the state, into the pockets of eastern stockholders. By the early 1920's, West Virginians were a poor people--although their mineral resources were among the richest in the country.
As coal boomed, large numbers of workers--African Americans from the South, Eastern Europeans, and Irish--came to meet the demand for labor. By the 1930s, the Southern coalfields included a large African American population. It is estimated that one-third to one-half of the miners, who helped organize the United Mine Workers of America Union in that period, were African Americans. It is well known that a white woman (Mother Jones) was a key player in the drama that was the birth of that union. But very few know that, in the Southern coalfields, a black woman (Memphis Tennessee Garrison) was a key organizer for human rights.
The river town of Huntington boomed in this period as the Kanawha and Ohio River valleys developed industries based on coal. These industries also attracted black workers from the south, as well as from other countries. Again, it was a black woman (Maudella Taylor) who provided the leadership to make the city responsible for the care of minority children by founding the Scott Community Center.
During World War II, West Virginia had more soldiers in service, per capita, than any other state. The fight to make the world "free for democracy" made many people question the rules that made American blacks second class citizens. One of the first people to cross into new territory was a black woman (Ancella Bickley), who entered the all-white graduate program at Marshall University and has subsequently led the struggle to rediscover West Virginia’s full history. The Civil Rights Movement opened more doors and a young black woman (Jan Smith) from Huntington walked through a door that had traditionally been open in the past for only whites and men--the Owens Illinois Glass factory. Enduring the snubs and hardships, she kept the door open for those who followed.
Appalachian women have historically shouldered heavy
economic burdens, as well as, being the backbone of their
communities. These are also cited as characteristics of
African American women. The four women we have studied
reflect the best of both traditions--black womanhood and
Appalachianess. Indeed, some have suggested that blacks
in Appalachia have the unique identity of being
"Affralachians." We hope that our study will
expand the image of proud free Moutaineers, for we now
know that this includes West Virginian African American
women.