The author of “Another Appalachia: Growing Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place” has been vocal about her experiences since JD Vance’s ascension to the Republican presidential ticket, asserting that he does not represent the Appalachia that she knows. Avashia said Vance offers a very narrow view of the region’s people in his book, “Hillbilly Elegy.”
“This notion of Appalachia as having a monoculture, where everyone is the same way, is already a problem,” she said. “There have been Black folks in Appalachia for the past three centuries. There have been Indigenous people in Appalachia for millennia. There have been immigrants to Appalachia — from all over the world — for a very long time.”
Avashia said “Hillbilly Elegy” illustrates how Vance is more inclined to blame problems on people than systemic issues, and that he’s effectively saying “we don’t need to do anything for these people.” She also criticized Vance’s book for being a “political announcement” rather than a memoir.
Read the full article here: https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2024-08-15/neema-avashia-criticizes-jd-vances-hillbilly-elegy-narrative-of-appalachian-culture