Abstract

They ain't gonna do my kid like they done me and his dad!" she protested."They know he can't read, but they're just gonna pass him on.That don't do no good, I know!"These are the words of Jenny, mother of Donny who, despite being able only to read and write his name, had just been promoted to the 2 nd grade.Jenny and husband "Big" Donny possess what Victoria Purcell-Gates calls "low literate ability" and are effectively unable to communicate with the school through print.When Jenny tries to communicate orally with Donny's teachers, they react harshly, as the author recalls a particular interaction in which the instructor exclaims, "I knew she [Jenny] was ignorant as soon as she opened her mouth!"(37).Thus, Jenny turns to the local university literacy center for help, which at the time was run by Purcell-Gates.This scenario reflects a familiar situation in which literacy workers are often faced with assisting community members in adapting to the literacies of mainstream institutions.As this special issue of the Community Literacy Journal commemorates the work of Shirley Brice Heath's Ways With Words (1983) and her work in the Appalachian region, it is fitting here to revisit a similar study concerning a group that shares a similar cultural identity yet does not reside in the actual physical boundaries of Appalachia.Victoria Purcell-Gates' Other People's Words: The Cycle of Low Literacy introduces us to a cultural group named urban Appalachians, which some have labeled an invisible minority.While many tend to think of a space defined by its boundaries as home to Appalachians, one cannot overlook the phenomenon referred to as the Great Migration.From 1940-1970 the Appalachian region witnessed an exodus of nearly seven million residents who migrated to Midwestern cities such as Cleveland, Detroit, Columbus,