Excerpted from an article by Greg Schaber, printed in the Winter 2004 issue of Xavier Magazine, the alumni Publication of Xavier University

Michael E. Maloney, President of the EAM Board, was given the McCrackin Peace
and Justice Award in December by Community Shares of Cincinnati, Ohio. The award, named for the late social activist Maurice McCrackin, recognizes Cincinnati individuals who have demonstrated long-term commitment to the creation of a peaceful and just community.

Mike's roots in Eastern Kentucky have led him to a life of commitment to Appalachian causes, both locally and regionally. Born in 1940 in a log cabin in Breathitt County, Ky., the traces of the distinctive Appalachian accent have disappeared from Mike's speech, but the meaning of his mountain culture has only grown stronger.

“Mike's a pioneer,” says writer and sociologist Phil Obermiller, who has worked with Maloney since the early 1970s. “Pioneers can see things we can't. In Mike's case, it's an idea of how society can be. He not only helped Appalachians adapt, but also helped Cincinnati learn how to react to the migrants. And what he did created a pathway for other minorities that followed, like the Hispanics.”

Maloney was a natural fit for the task, with an education and a developing big-picture view that most of the migrants lacked. Equally important, though, he understood what it meant to be uprooted. Breathitt County is notorious for a bloody, feud-riddled history unmatched by any other county in the United States. And before Maloney's second birthday, violence touched his family: His father was beaten to death, the result of a “disagreement.” Fearing her oldest sons would seek revenge, Maloney's mother moved her nine children to neighboring Lee County. Mike joined St. Theresa's Catholic Mission at age 17.

“That was the beginning of my Appalachian consciousness,” Maloney says. “He called me to be true to myself.”

His direction altered, Maloney decided to enter the priesthood. Disciplined for pushing reforms in the wake of Vatican II, though, he resigned from the seminary in 1966 and enrolled at Xavier University in Cincinnati.

In the late 1960s, racial unrest exploded into rioting across the country, and Cincinnati wasn't immune. In the wake of the violence, Maloney de-toured to the University of North Carolina to study city and regional planning. He intended to take his new knowledge back to Eastern Kentucky, but a professor urged him to finish the work he'd begun in Cincinnati. Maloney agreed, and soon began a 15-year stint teaching Appalachian Studies at Xavier.

He also continued to advocate for migrants, work that in 1974 led to the founding of the Urban Appalachian Council. Cobbling together a solid core of financial support through the United Way, grants and private donations, he built a stable organization.

“One of the things Mike did so well was to establish a solid base in terms of research,” says Maureen Sullivan, who succeeded Maloney as the Council's Executive Director in 1982.

For his part, Maloney admits to lots of advances educationally, economically and perceptually, but says much work remains to be done, particularly with those Appalachian migrants who re-main in the inner city. But he takes satisfaction in knowing that a younger generation of activists has picked up the torch.

Today, Maloney still owns the family land in Kentucky. The cabin is long gone, but he built a shack on the property, and from time to time heads back to the hills-and the culture that continues to shape his life. And if he's forced to stop and think about it, Maloney sees himself as a “bridge person” between the two worlds-the one he came to, and the one he never really left.