The Whittaker supporters are giving their “last five dollars” to raise money for “America’s most inbred family.”

Known as America’s “most inbred family,” the Whittaker have received donations to improve their lives.

The West Virginia Family became known to most first American 2004 after Photographer Mark Laita took the pictures of them for his book Create Equal.

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When Laita first met the Whittaker, the family lived in misery and cut off from the rest of society.

Over a decade later in 2020, The Whittakers rose to prominence after Latia revisited and released the inbred family a video a tour of her home that went viral.

Titled Inbred Family – The Whittakersthe clip has garnered around 37 million views youtube.

The Family Members include the late Freddie (who died of a heart attack), siblings beamBetty, Larry and Lorene, along with their son Timmy.

The family is reportedly descended from two first cousins ​​who got married and had children, causing many members to suffer from learning disabilities and others Health Subjects.

Part of the family lived in a dilapidated four-room apartment House for decades.

Although it’s still run down, the Whitakers were able to make something meaningful improvements home after a GoFundMe campaign raised nearly $60,000 for her out of his $75,000 goal.

Laita said all proceeds help pay for the family’s living expenses and any additional home improvement jobs.

The goal has been raised from $75,000 to $100,000 and has raised more than $68,000 at the time of writing.

Several people left comments about the fundraiser and shared why they chose to donate.

“As a Kentuckian who grew up in a truly rural area, their story touched my heart,” one person wrote.

“Sending love and light to this family,” wrote another person with a heart emoji.

One person was only able to donate $5 to the fundraiser and expressed that they wished they could donate more.

“I’m 70 years old and I gave them my last five dollars. But you know what, I feel good now, better than not giving at all,” the person wrote. “I’ll be back next month.”

SELF LOVE

While early reports from the family said the siblings’ parents were brother and sister, the family later confirmed to Laita they were actually double first cousins. They are now deceased.

Some members of the Whittaker family have mental and physical abnormalities, while some members communicate only through grunts and cannot speak.

Some didn’t go to school.

Laita said he was recently given a police escort to the Whittaker home, which the family is now receiving their fair share of public attention.

Laita said an angry neighbor showed up with a shotgun and threatened to use it if he didn’t leave her alone.

He claimed the neighbors were incredibly protective of the family and would chase away anyone who showed up to photograph or taunt the Whittaker.

“They’re kind of protected by the neighbors and the relatives don’t like it when these people come to ridicule them,” Laita said on an episode of the Concrete KLIPS Podcast.

He also described the hectic scenes he saw: “There are these people walking around and their eyes go in different directions and they bark at us.”

Laita said he saw a man “run away and his pants fell around his ankles”.

He added, “It was out of control — the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Laita took some photos of family members so they could place a portrait in the coffin of a recently deceased relative. This began a relationship that would last for almost 20 years.

But he was criticized by locals and two YouTubers for “perpetuating a stereotype”.

Shane and Melody of the Real Appalachia YouTube Channel also claimed that Laita “supposedly does all this good work for her and raises money for her”.

However, they argue that the documentary “perpetuates the decades-old stereotype about inbreeding in the Appalachia.”

“I just feel like there’s a lot more that could be done for these people,” Melody continued.

“I think he’s trying to pretend like he does a lot for her.”

ThoughtCo. states that inbreeding can cause defects such as “reduced fertility, reduced birth rate, higher infant and child mortality, and smaller adult height”.

These defects also include: “Increased risk of cardiovascular disease, increased facial asymmetry, and increased risk of genetic disorders.”

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