Clarification appended Dec. 2, 2019.
During President Obama’s reelection bid, a radio commentator stated with certainty that the conservative “hillbilly firewall” would hinder a second term in the states with sizable Appalachian districts. The prediction was not a compliment to our mountain region on many fronts but does prove that stereotyping mountain residents appears to be the last politically correct bigotry promoted by much of the media.
Not that facts should get in the way of a pithy slur, but maybe we should use the coalfields of Virginia as a potential counter weight. Norton, Virginia, started its Little League program in 1951 and expressly included black kids, the only program to do so in the entire state (and likely in the former Confederacy). Charlottesville’s team won the eastern title and demanded that the black Norton players be taken off the team before the state title game could commence. Norton, being the only Little League program in western Virginia, made the state final by default. Consequently, no one knew how this brand new team would play against a decades old programs.
Ironically, 1951 was also the year that the University of Virginia’s law school in Charlottesville went to court to prevent a black student from entering those elite hallways. Gregory Swanson had all the qualifications for admission except the color of his skin. UVA lost on appeal, and Gregory made history. He wasn’t allowed to live on campus and was roundly ostracized so ended up leaving UVA early but went on to practice law. (The University of Virginia Law School sends this clarification: UVA Law School did not block Swanson’s admission — the Law School accepted Swanson’s application, as detailed in this article: https://www.law.virginia.edu/uvalawyer/article/long-walk. Furthermore, Swanson did not leave because he was ostracized. He completed his curricular studies at the Law School, which lasted one year via the LL.M. program (a J.D. takes three years of study, an LL.M., or master’s of law, is one year). To obtain a degree, you had to complete a thesis (as the article also explains), and Swanson did not complete his thesis, which was fairly common at the time. Another alum, Mortimer Caplin ’40, ended up hiring him to work as a lawyer at the IRS.)
Meanwhile, Norton’s Little League sponsors and coaches refused to reject their black players and would have won the state title by forfeiture had the segregated team failed to show. Instead, Charlottesville came to Norton to pummel the integrated upstarts and lost, 12-3. A decade earlier, in Russell County, the 1938-9 Dante Central High School football team became Southwest Virginia’s first integrated sports teams and, again, likely the first in Virginia and the old Confederacy to do so.
In the late 1950s UVA’s branch in Wise County, known as Clinch Valley College at the time, admitted a female black student to its two-year program despite resistance from the mother ship in Charlottesville. Clinch Valley’s inaugural chancellor, Dr. Joe Smiddy, famously replied when told the applicant was black: “What color is her money?” And he promptly let her in.
Even before the Virginia coalfields broke the color barrier, Helen Timmons Henderson became one of the first two women to win 1923 races in the state legislature, only three years after the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allowed females to vote. Helen and her husband helped establish the Baptist Mountain School in Buchanan County, one of the largest coal counties in the state. She was nominated to run again two years later but passed away before the election. Her daughter, Helen Ruth Henderson, succeeded her late mother in 1927 and worked tirelessly for better education and roads for her adopted mountain homeland. Not only did coalfield voters elect two women legislators within one decade but they both were “outsiders” from Missouri, yet much loved due to their unbridled devotion to children and education.
Speaking of supporting women, only six female lawyers have been appointed by the Virginia General Assembly to the Supreme Court in the state’s 243 year history. Interestingly, three of them (yes, half) are from coalfield Virginia and had, as their primary sponsor, Del. Terry Kilgore, a Scott County Republican farm boy. Cynthia Kinser, of Lee County, stands at the first and only woman to become a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Not bad for Virginia’s last frontier.
Retired Justices Elizabeth McClanahan and Chief Justice Cynthia Kinser, and newly installed Justice Teresa Chafin
Despite this long history of inclusion, I have many times been called upon to account for racism and sexism in the coalfields by my friends from other sections of the state and “up North.” I point out that although Virginia’s coal camps were indeed racially segregated mostly by coal company built housing and schools, the races and ethnic immigrants shopped together, ate where they chose, went to the same movie houses, worked side by side in very dangerous conditions every day and belonged to the same union. When mine disasters occurred, rescue teams went in after their trapped “brother” regardless of race or place of origin.
Appalachian mining camps were made up of tens of thousands of immigrants from Poland, Italy, Hungary, and many Slavic countries. The early 1900s issues of the United Mine Workers Journal spread union news in three language sections, English, Italian and Slavic. Wise County’s 1920 census shows that 5% of its population was Hungarian immigrants and their children. This “melting pot” throughout coalfield Appalachia rivaled New York City and San Francisco in population and proportion. McDowell County in West Virginia, which borders two Virginia coal counties, was so inclusive of its very large population of African Americans-who migrated there from the Deep South in the early to mid 1900s — that it was dubbed “The Free State of McDowell.”
I dutifully provide whoever will listen with more examples of our libertarian coalfield culture including the fact that coalfield Appalachia represented a sizable pro-Union sentiment before and during the Civil War, resulting in the formation of present day West Virginia. Virginia coalfield counties bordering Kentucky strongly resisted Rebel requisitioning of their crops and livestock toward the end of the war and a majority of Appalachians in Northeast Tennessee rebelled against the Confederacy to the point that President Lincoln requested that one of his most trusted generals reward them for their loyalty and as a result Lincoln Memorial University was founded in Harrogate. Today, LMU provides mountain students and young people from around the globe with opportunities to become doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, allied health care specialists and business and education majors. I usually get blank stares from my buddies as I count the ways we are far different than the stereotypes they are so apt to inhale and repeat. I am not sure if the stares are due to disbelief, awe, or not understanding my mountain dialect, but they are painfully hilarious nonetheless.
But back to the history-making first and second presidential runs made by our first African American president. Those two votes supply ample evidence to find that racism here in the Appalachian coalfields is not as pervasive as political pundits like to portray. For example, in Southwest Virginia the 9th Congressional District runs from Salem westward to Cumberland Gap. It is conservative territory no doubt, but the past three pre-Hillary Democratic presidential candidates, Gore, Kerry and Obama (all three arguably the most liberal U.S. Senators at the time) garnered roughly 39% of the vote.
The obvious question then is if we are such racists, how did Barack Obama pull virtually the same percent of votes as two of the whitest guys in America? It is no big surprise that President Obama did very poorly here in his reelection bid because by that time his attitude toward coal, gun rights, late-term abortions, and marriage were well known. And Hillary did not help her cause when she promised to cut out the highest paying blue collar jobs in the region and, by implication, averred that Appalachians were amongst the most deplorable of the deplorables. Agree with the coalfield majority’s stance on these issues or not, the 92% white voting bloc here gave President Obama his equal share of moderate to liberal votes until it became clear how he felt about us “clinging” to guns, Bibles and the American flag. Voting “no” to his second term after that revelation was based mostly upon fact-driven democracy, not racism. And let’s not forget Doug Wilder’s historic 1989 victory as the nation’s first African American governor. He carried five of the seven coalfield counties by margins from 54-62%! Meanwhile he barely carried Albemarle with 51%.
In other words, our coalfield region had a history of inclusion way before more genteel regions of Virginia were ordered by courts to do so. Court ordered integration in the coalfields happened almost seamlessly, while some other Virginia jurisdictions privatized public schools to try to avoid the law. It took many years in some parts of the state to reach full compliance and a few scholars opine that our cities have inched back toward segregation “light.” The list of coalfield libertarianism attitudes continues.
So a memo from the “hillbilly firewall” is in order to our fellow Virginians and the talking heads who negatively assume too much (or too little) about our mountain character: Look at the race and gender relations history of the place you call home, compare it with ours and, with all due respect, find another whipping boy.
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(19) comments
I've never even heard of this "hillbilly firewall" label which seems to bother Mr. Kilgore so much but far Southwest Virginia's continued support of Trump, who despite promises has accomplished nothing for them, indicates that the area needs to rethink their priorities.
See hillbilly firewall source:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/morning-must-reads-hillbilly-firewall-primary-blowout-edition
A 9-year-old article? Huh?
That's the great thing about the internet. You can find old articles. Like this one: https://www.heraldcourier.com/news/the-kilgores-share-a-last-name-but-they-trade-favors/article_e2e2e38a-c9bb-542a-872c-df8df0c95059.html
Yeah, maybe they can all just drop what they`ve done for years and sell vacuum cleaners.
Just what do you think Obama did other than abolish coal use! Trump has improved the stock market, economy and more coal is being mined and exported from Southwest Virginia. You know the Stateline stops near Roanoke and NOVA consisting of mainly carpetbaggers, are running the State.
Sorry, rebel, but despite Trump's promises to save coal, coal production declined from 2017 to 2018, nationally and in Virginia.
So here's a question for you. The stock market is doing fine now. What about in 20 years when you're getting ready to start drawing out of your IRA? When the effects of Trump's explosion of the Federal shows their effect on your investments? The hallmark of the individual retirement investor is long-haul thinking. The people who make money in the boom-and-bust cycles are the banks and the brokers.
Mr. Kilgore I have made many of your same arguments on behalf of Virginia in the past. I have lived in Southern California for the last 36 years after growing up in the New River Valley and educated at Virginia Tech. I was born in Bluefield. I come back to visit every year. The level of unconscious bias that continues to exist there makes it hard for me to agree with you. Oh, and it was actually "God, guns, and gays" that the Republican Party used to get SW Virginians to the polls for years and vote against their own economic interests. Let's be real here. Democrats gave these citizens social security, Medicare, and finally Medicaid...not the Republicans. As a member of the LGBTQ community it has disgusted me to see Republicans use my life in such a way for their own political gain. As for blacks, well, as I stated previously, my defense of Virginia to my black tennis friends were just met with stares. I got schooled. So Mr. Kilgore Virginia is still dealing with these issues today as it becomes more diverse. I don't think you realize how silly this issue plays in SoCal...from my view. I hope youunderstand.
I do understand. All human beings have tribal instincts that manifest in many ways, subtle and not so subtle. But for your SoCal friends to discount an entire state due to racist Byrd Democrats that were eventually dislodged by SW Va Republicans and Gov Holton is just the kind of stereotyping and lack of knowledge my article addresses. History proves that coalfield Appalachia was more pro-union than the rest of the south and border states, more open minded due to the very diverse cultures pooled together and had in common facing horrendous deaths and injuries daily while mining coal. Your friends must have been thinking of UVA and Charlottesville, not Norton, Dante and McDowell County when they formed a rock solid disgust toward an entire state. That is the very definition of stereotyping and bigotry. I regret that you felt rejected in your own homeland, there is no excuse for you being mistreated.. But it does not obviate the facts that comparatively speaking the coal towns produced a much more open and libertarian culture than found elsewhere in the state and the South. Please email me at frank@fkilgore.net and I will share more evidence you can share with your friends. They cannot learn if their minds are closed to facts. No group has all the answers nor do I but I do have some very inconvenient facts for people that demonize the Appalachian coalfields. Thanks
Thank you for your response Mr. Kilgore. For the record, I didn't feel I was really "mistreated" by anyone. The people back home are some of the sweetest, kindest people I know. This is why it saddens me to see them mistreated by politicians and it really doesn't sound as if you are willing to let go of the partisan bickering in an effort to help these citizens. I could be wrong but I don't think you realize what true bigotry is Mr. Kilgore because I doubt you have experienced it in the way I have. When someone tells you in no uncertain terms that "you will be alright as long as you know your place" you might not realize the effect of what you are actually saying. I then knew my place was not in SW Virginia. My black friends draw from their own experiences and to refer to them as "close-minded" is just not consistent with liberal-minded thinking. These conversations took place a few years ago before the hateful events in Charlottesville. I would say they are anything but close-minded. From your response to me...it doesn't sound very encouraging for the future. SW Virginians deserve better.
This is EDR. Thank You, Mr. Odell, for your comments.....they are well spoken. Mr. Kilgore is on "thin ice" with his argument.
How ironic. Charlottesville, home to the smuggest of smug liberals, was perpetrating blatant racism against blacks as recently as the mid 1950s. This is the same Charlottesville that is all for tearing down statues and changing the names of memorials, of Confederates - because they were racists. I wonder what the new name of Charlottesville should be, now that it's been brought to attention that they themselves were racists.
First, there are quite a few well traveled and used " last politically correct bigotry promoted" in political circles.
Second, it is not so much that racism and bigotry are so "pervasive" as it is that they are so easily called up, incited and used in whatever maelstrom they can be used in. And that happens for a reason, whether anyone wants to admit it or not.
The truth is that many otherwise good, kind, neighborly and decent people ARE often also racist, bigoted and afraid of diversity and inclusion until they experience it as a positive.
Blanket or broad brush condemnation is never fair or flattering, but there is always a nugget of truth in them.
Those tough politicians say a lot from their pulpits. Lets invite them to Appalachia to give us the same speak. Please don`t anyone hold their breath.....Not healthy for that long.
Yours is the exact attitude that is so uninviting. Mayor Pete has already been to SW Virginia and will be back.
I'm an African American Roanoke native. Were any African Americans interviewed by Mr. Kilgore before this article was written. I feel safe in saying that the views he espouses would not have been those of my community. We have had a horrible history of urban renewal displacing us, communities being built on top of landfills, lynchings, police misconduct against us, and the list goes on. Maybe some of us were lucky to get a job in a mine, and could share a drink with immigrants, but the majority of our ancestors lived in fear of Jim Crow daily.
How many African Americans were interviewed in Mr. Kilgore's study? Probably not many. As a native African American Roanoker I know that my folks dealt with the fear of lynchings, racial harassment, displacement by urban renewal, etc. I doubt that all was joyous in towns with very few blacks, but it's good to know that some black folk enjoyed a little taste of freedom back then.
According to the photo caption, Mr. Kilgore is associated with Buchanan County. Maybe the reason he doesn't see racism where he lives is because there aren't any black people living there. Less than 4% of Buchanan County's population is African-American, Hispanic, or Asian. The place is 96+% white. If there were some black folks that Mr. Kilgore could talk to locally, I'll bet they would tell him how underwhelmed they are with the isolated tidbits of magnanimity shown by coal companies and educational institutions of the region. They might be a little more interested in the demographics of the Keen Mountain penitentiary.
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