Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Intersection of Race and Region

University Of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville TN

Investigators

Abstract

Title: The Intersection of Race and Region Popular perceptions of Appalachia depict a rural region populated by poor, "backward," uneducated Whites. Despite a more than two-hundred-year Black presence in Appalachia, the perceived racial homogeneity of the region and the scholarly discourse that downplay racial difference create a story of Appalachia focused on poor (White) problems that ignore race. Through a qualitative case study of Knoxville, this dissertation seeks to disrupt popular and scholarly conceptions of Appalachia by considering how scholars might research, recognize and think about race in the region not simply through the experiences of Whites, but through an examination of the lives of the sizable but almost invisible population of Blacks. US Black identity research has overwhelmingly focused on Great Migration destinations such as Philadelphia and, recently, Southern cities like Atlanta. This research adds sociological nuance and expands the understanding of Black regional identity by focusing on a region where Black identity is shaped by neglect. The researcher will integrate and expand upon Black identity research theoretically attached to regionalization and inter-sectionality in Appalachia and that class, gender and generation compound these distinctions. This research not only gives voice to a Black Appalachian community but it also raises awareness of the issues that may affect Black communities throughout Appalachia. There has long been a substantial number of Blacks particularly in urban areas in Southern Appalachia, such as Knoxville, Tennessee. Knoxville presents an ideal city to conduct a case study of African American experiences and identity in Appalachia given the number of African Americans who call Knoxville home and the historical significance of the city for African Americans in the region. Three primary questions drive this research. The first research question (what are the dimensions of Black identity in Appalachia) is interested in everyday Black life and experiences in Knoxville. The researcher will examine how Black identities are constructed, maintained, and contested in particular spaces in Knoxville. The second research question asks how other identities, such as class, gender, and generation shape Blackness. This question is concerned with the intersections of identity categories and how a person's experiences might differ depending on the intersections of their identity. The third question asks what are the historical, structural, racial and cultural practices that result in Black invisibility? This question seeks to understand the structuring factors that have organized Black lives in Knoxville historically, and how race and racism have impacted blacks in the region generally. To answer these question this research will employ qualitative and archival research methods. The researcher will conduct approximately 50 semi-structured interviews with a diverse cross-section of African Americans in Knoxville including men and women of different socio-economic backgrounds, neighborhoods of residence and age ranges. The researcher will use purposeful and snowball sampling to recruit participants of the three geographic spaces that have historically been associated with African Americans in Knoxville, East Knoxville, Mechanicsville and Lonsdale, as well as from other areas. The researcher will also review newspaper articles, major studies of Appalachia communities, and government documents to examine how cultural, geographical, and social narratives of Appalachia and Blacks in the region have been constructed historically.