Shades of whiteness and poverty

So I was reading the website of the Cincinnati Urban Appalachian Council the other day and I was fascinated to see the Queen City's urban hillbillies described as "the invisible minority". The site went on to describe Appalachians as occupying a socioeconomic position between whites and African Americans, however the site said that in an urban context Appalachians usually have more in common with Black folks than whites. Urban Appalachians face discrimination, as do racial minorities, however for them discrimination is often based on accent, location of residence, or lifestyle. Michael Maloney and Christopher Auffrey, authors of The Social Areas of Cincinnati: an analysis of social needs argue that urban Appalachians may easily pass through social doors barred to people of color; they may assimilate easily. Successful professionals of Appalachian backgrounds usually live in affluent - rather than ethnic - areas. However, the authors continue, Appalachians also lack the strong social organizations that other minorities have, for example the community structures represented by Black churches and Civil-Rights-era-rooted antipoverty organizations. In overall society Appalachians occupy a socioeconomic niche between whites and Blacks. However, in the context of a major city their marginalization places them closer to African Americans. Thus in Cincinnati hillbillies have more in common with Black people than the largely middle-class Midwesternite white people.

That jives with what I know from personal experience. My Appalachian friend Nathan Turner gets along better with inner city Black folk than any white dude I ever met. He grew up in an integrated - but poor - town in the Blue Ridge mountains so has always been around working-class and poor people of varying hues and cultures.

So what is race? And what race are hillbillies? John Waters said tha 'white trash' is the last racist thing anyone can say in public...