reflect the continuing dearth of stable employment
opportunities for black males. Some of the highest
out-of-wedlock birth rates for blacks are found in
Southern states. Some of the lowest rates, as well as
some of the highest, for whites are also found in the
South. Informal adoption and other alternative fam-
ily arrangements that distribute child rearing among
grandmothers, aunts, and other relatives also are
symptomatic of the structural conditions that retard
the parents’ acquisition of education and entry into
stable occupational endeavors.
The dynamics of poverty among black Americans
give great cause for concern. Bane and Ellwood
(1986) find not only that blacks face reduced em-
ployment opportunity, but also that the average du-
ration of a spell of poverty is nearly twice as long for
a black person as for a white (6.5 years vs. 3.4 years).
The plight of black children is alarming indeed.
Fifty-seven percent of minority children in the rural
South live below the poverty line (O’Hare). These
children can expect to spend an average of almost
two decades in poverty (Bane and Ellwood, 1989).
This means that many young black Americans will
spend the critical years of education, career choice,
and family formation in poverty.
Indians
Native Americans are the poorest rural minority
and the group that seems to have the greatest diffi-
culty making the transition out of poverty (Snipp).
High rates of alcoholism are indications of the un-
derlying legacy of injustice and disruption imposed
on Native Americans. It is important to note that
there are significant intertribal differences in levels
of accommodation to the dominant culture, corpo-
rate development of tribal resources, and group ef-
forts to exploit tourism, gambling, and other
recreational enterprises.
Appalachian Whites
Poor whites outnumber poor rural minorities
(Flynt). Appalachian whites face particular disad-
vantages associated with difficult terrain, isolation,
limited economic opportunities, and external control
of local resources. They confront fundamental eco-
nomic disparities with respect to large landowners,
bankers, coal companies, factory owners, and other
wealthy interests (Walls and Billings).
The Appalachian Regional Commission repre-
sents one policy response to the chronic problems of
these counties. Better highways, improved telecom-
munications, and other technological advances have
all operated to the advantage of isolated areas (Dill-
man) . These factors have been particularly important
in reducing the distance between mountain people
and the agencies and institutions designed to serve
them.
Women
Women comprise the largest numerical category of
the rural poor and the largest proportion of each of
the aforementioned categories. Particularly vulner-
able to job insecurity and limited opportunities,
women experience widespread Imderemployment
(Lichter). As long as parents are responsible for
children, and this responsibility is bom dispropor-
tionately by women, women will disproportionately
bear the burdens of poverty (Fuchs). In the rural
South, tradition and culture only widen the gap
between women and men.
REASONS FOR RURAL POVERTY
The “liability of rurality” will continue to be a
controversial issue and a rationale for directing spe-
cial efforts to the needs of rural people (Gibson,
Goodin, and Le Grand; Nathan). Sparse settlement,
great travel distances, weak economies, and weak
institutions each represent a barrier or disadvantage
associated with rural residence.
Rural areas are dependent on resource extrac-
tion—minerals, wood, fish and game, agriculture.
Much of the processing and adding of value to the
basic raw materials takes place in other locales.
Employment and local economic benefits from ex-
tractive industries are centrally tied to cyclic fluctua-
tions in national and world commodity markets
(Rees; West). Uneven demand for coal, pulp, and
other commodities represents intense cycles of
boom and bust for many rural locales dependent on
these industries for employment (Rees). Often, these
places have few alternatives to allay the ebb and flow
of employment and income from the extractive sec-
tor. Thus, workers often experience spells of inten-
sive production and overtime followed by spells of
unemployment, during which savings and govern-
ment benefits are expected to provide support.
The processing plants and distribution systems for
rural commodities are often owned by corporate
entities located in distant urban areas and, in many
cases, other nations. Matters such as employment
continuity and local economic development are sec-
ondary issues for these firms, at best. In some cases,
firms have opposed efforts by rural leaders to attract
alternative sources of employment that may compete
for available labor.
Technological change improves productivity by
increasing output per worker. Existing workers pro-
duce more product with better machinery or equip-
ment. In some cases, fewer workers are required,
creating unemployment. Where few alternative jobs
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