The Meaning of "Redneck" and Its Role in the U.S. Labor Movement

The Talking Appalachian Podcast

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Redneck. Hillbilly. White Trash. These are some of the class-based words used to describe people of Appalachia. But did you know that redneck, in particular, has a very special meaning associated with red bandanas worn in solidarity by striking coal miners? Included is an excerpted interview from 1974 with coal miners Herbert Grills and John Tiller, who talk about the "gun thugs" that terrorized miners, and their decades long battles for the union.
Then we'll go back in time to the 1500's when historian Nancy Isenberg, in her book White Trash, talks about the first origins of these words and how they became nicknames for the "expendable" working class, tracking the evolution of these words to modern times, as people begin to embrace them.
Thanks to western North Carolina's Andy Bracken for his song "Roots" from his album Fading Appalachia on Spotify.
Thanks to Appalshop and Appalshop Archive for the 1974 interview
Information cited from Nancy Isenberg's book White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America and Storming Heaven by Denise Giardina

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Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Steam Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

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