Imagining a Liberation Psychology for Appalachia: The Case of Southwestern Pennsylvanian Women Living in Poverty

While liberation theologies for Appalachia have been under discussion since the 1970s (e.g. Hinsdale, Lewis, & Waller, 1995), a liberation psychology theory and praxis has yet to be articulated for the region. Drawing on the work of Latin American liberation psychologist Martín-Baró (1994) and US psychologists Watkins & Shulman (2008), this paper argues the relevance of liberation psychology to Appalachia by proposing its use among poor women living in rural and urban communities in Western Pennsylvania. The exploration draws on my history as a white woman raised in poverty in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands, and my encounter with the work of LaToya Ruby Frazier, the award-winning African American artist whose photography and videography have captured the devastating effects of disinvestment and industrial pollution on her family and home community of Braddock, Pennsylvania, a historically black industrial suburb of Pittsburgh, situated just 40 miles northwest of my hometown. Through this case, the paper to considers the importance of historical and cultural location to the development of liberation psychologies and the specific importance of feminism, anti-racism, and environmental ethics to the cultivation of liberation psychologies in the Appalachian region. References Hinsdale, M. A., Lewis, H. M., & Waller, S. M. (1995). It comes from the people: Community development and local theology. Temple University Press. Martín-Baró, I., Aron, A., & Corne, S. (1994). Writings for a liberation psychology. Harvard University Press. Watkins, M., & Shulman, H. (2008). Toward psychologies of liberation. Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan.