St. Patrick's Day is one of my FAVORITE "holidays." All of my friends will tell you that. I love it, always have. Consider myself Irish on that day, truly and totally immerse myself in all things Irish on that day. I actually look forward to it.
I think in part because I always had fond memories celebrating St. Patrick's day at the Catholic school I attended. I loved the way the entire school, and then I found out, the entire community, city, country became all things Irish on that one day. For one day no matter what nationality, or ethnicity you were, you embraced the food, music, customs and history of the Irish.
I still celebrate it, secretly wishing that if we had a day just like that for all cultures, how much easier it would be for people to get along. We would all, celebrate someone different and in turn have others celebrate us. So much individual cultural pride that would become a collective global pride. What a world.
We have an opportunity to do that this coming weekend when the 40th Annual Appalachian Festival takes place at Coney Island, celebrating the rich culture and heritage of this region. Friday is Education day, students participate in events that help them learn more about Appalachian folk. Some schools in the area teach Appalachian culture in school, like St. William School in Price Hill. But ALL schools should be required to attend the Appalachian festival and have an Appalachian day during the school year. In part because one in every three students that attend a tristate school has a connected ancestry to Appalachia. But many don't know it.
About nine years ago I did a story on Black Appalachians, African Americans who settled in the Appalachia region and their dual cultural identity. Now how they settled here a very different story, but how they existed in the region, oh so similar. The iron cast skillets, mountainous region, respect of land and fierce loyalty to friends and family. Beans and cornbread, quilting, harmonicas, dulcimers and storytelling. A hard but honest day's work.
All things that should be celebrated, in school and in life, don't you think?
Monday, May 4, 2009
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I believe there should be more emphasize on Appalachian history and culture as well as more studies on Native American History and the early Frontier. (ex. Shawnee, Potawatomies, Wyandots, Tecumseh, Blue Jacket, Simon Kenton, Tecumseh, Chief Logan, Daniel Boone, Benjamin Logan, Little Turtle, William Henry Harrison, etc.)
ReplyDeleteI'm Appalachian through and through, and I would love to see children study more about Appalachia and Appalachians, including how to pronounce it (both are short As). :) I think especially in this region there are a lot of Appalachians who were forced to move here due to lack of opportunities back home.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't think we should do it because of some PC guilt trip, it would be good to enlighten others about Appalachians. Most rednecks are often Appalachians and I've thought for a while now that rednecks are the one group that it's still okay to belittle.
The more we can all understand each other, the less PC we have to try to be and the more we just appreciate the diversity of humanity.
Regina - What a beautifully written post. How absolutely wonderful it would be if all of us embraced one another for our own individuality, our own culture and our own background. When it comes right down to it, we're all a lot more alike than we are different.
ReplyDeleteI’ve grown up around international exchange programs, I’ve worked with and for a number of social service agencies, and I’ve seen firsthand what great things can be accomplished when people of all abilities, beliefs and cultures come together.
I have been working on the Appalachian Festival for more than 18 years. It is truly a favorite event for me because it is a celebration of a culture that is related to a sizeable percent of our population. (It's also a favorite because of the friendly people, home made crafts, blue grass music and pioneer village.) Kids and families who visit the Festival leave with a deeper appreciation of the Appalachians.
All of us, no matter our age, can benefit from learning about each other.
Thank you Regina, for raising this topic of discussion!
Lisa Desatnik
Reginia: A wonderful story you did. I feel also that schools should be mandated to attend an event such as these for the richness of history and culture of the Appalchain People as well as the Native People which the schools lack depreatley. I have been there for 6-8 years in Living History and still amazed at how many children had no clue that the eggs or chicken they eat come from a chicken,, or their pork chops came from a pig. Or people actually survived with no T.V , lights ,etc all the things they have today. Not to mention how many teachers also vaguley if any remember being born Appalchain except from word of mouth from their parents or relative. Appalchain i am ,, sure it was a litte rough as a child cropping, putting food away for winter, But a world were all were friends regardless of race or religion. Great Story Hope to see you there...
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Regina. I love the way you describe that different cultures can be celebrated as opposed to explained by rote. No matter what you call my people, Appalachians or Appalaychians, they are proud, strong and have lots of talents and richness to their roots.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work highlighting important education topics for your viewers and fans. It's great to hear stories that are more nuanced and have more context than the typical broadcast news sound byte!
Elissa Sonnenberg, UC Journalism Program
In our family, we hold this particular truth to be self-evident: yes, celebrate Appalachian culture. And, yes, make it an official part of the curriculum in the schools! According to Research to Practice: Appalachian/African-American Cultural Education Project, a literacy paper written by Pauletta Hansel of the Urban Appalachian Council, “approximately one third of greater Cincinnati is urban Appalachian; roughly twelve percent of this urban Appalachian population is also African-American.” Figures like that indicate the need to highlight and celebrate this broad-based segment of Cincinnati’s population. It certainly dovetails with our schools’ American history content standards. Studying the patterns of Appalachian/African-American migration into the greater Cincinnati area reflects the bigger picture of immigration and emigration of during times of economic stress throughout our nation’s history from its earliest times. Schools should take homegrown advantage of this lesson by exploring local cultures and traditions close at hand. Learning hands-on at the Appalachian Festival is an excellent resource readily available to our schools. I feel that to miss this obvious opportunity provides a real disservice to our children’s education. On a special day set aside for them, students visit artisans and listen to their stories, absorbing lessons as only the young can do. What better way to study? Surviving by keeping culture and traditions alive in a sometimes hostile environment is a story that crosses boundaries of many diverse populations that make up America. It’s a lesson we want all of our children to understand.
ReplyDeleteLiving in Cincinnati and not understanding the Appalachian impact on our city is like living in Cincinnati and never seeing the Ohio River. It happens. But it shouldn’t. Both situations can be remedied at the site of the Appalachian Festival located on the shores of the Ohio River at Old Coney this weekend.
Barb Childers