It’s not a dirty little secret or anything, but cultural diversity in the mountains of Western North Carolina isn’t talked about much. It used to be that there just wasn’t much diversity to talk about! I grew up in Detroit, San Diego, Albuquerque and Farmington so I’d been exposed to all kinds of diversity. I was really unprepared moving to Jackson County, NC as an adult from cities like Miami, West Palm Beach and the Tampa Bay area for the then “whiteness” of the area.
We used to drive 90 miles to the shopping mall in Knoxville. Not to shop, but to people watch. We were in culture shock and missed cultural diversity. We wanted to hear other accents, skin tones, and manners of dress. We’d never considered there’d be a lack of culture variety here. Who would have thought about it? Of course, we also never took into consideration finding a place to live that had southern exposure either or whether we‘d be able to buy black beans or fresh fish.. Those are the kinds of things that if you’ve always had them, you can’t conceive of a world without them. In 1986, according to the US Census there was less than 8% non-white population.
Wait a minute, black beans? Coming from Florida, Black Beans and Rice is a staple in any household I live in. At the time, in Florida, we could buy black beans in 1 pound bags for a price of 3 for $1.00. Imagine our surprise when after looking in grocery store after grocery store for black beans we finally asked a clerk and... get this…black beans were in the tiny “Ethnic” foods section! In 1986, a 6 oz box of black beans was $3.98! My parents used to visit, and bring “supplies” from Florida including dozens of bags of black beans!
What got me thinking about this topic was brought on by attending the Chinese Opera Orchestra of Shanghai performance last night. It dawned on me that a gradual and fabulous transition has occurred here over the last 25 years. The beauty and grandeur of the Blue Ridge Mountains range and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as well as the local mountain culture still exist - intact and timeless. Now, however, the event last night at the Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center in Cullowhee really showed we’ve embraced cultural diversity here. It was a delicious sensation to view the crowd and see ALL ages, skin tones of every hue, the lovely babble of different accents in excited chatter surrounding us and every conceivable styles of dress. Not that it matters, but the US Census verifies the change.
No joke, I’ve got to keep a “big girl” camera with me always! These cell phone snapshots aren’t contest quality, but I really like them. They capture the mood of the highly energized, wildly diversified and groovy beyond words performers and appreciators celebrating cultural diversity here in the mountains of Western North Carolina!
Melville Capps
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