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Asheville Leaders Said They Wanted Reparations. One Year Later, Progress Has Been Slow at Best.
When Asheville, North Carolina’s City Council passed a resolution in favor of reparations for its Black citizens in July of last year, the initiative gained national attention. Multiple…
Racism, abortion, same-sex unions, mask-wearing, vaccines. Churches could be sites of dialogue, pastors say. Now, they’re more polarized than…
This is the third story in Critical Condition, a three part series. Read more here. “I’m hopin’,” Andrea Haas says with conviction. The Remote…
This is the first story in Critical Condition, a three part series. Read more here. In his history of Williamson, West Virginia, Okey P.…
You Want to Understand Joe Manchin? You Have to Understand West Virginia Politics First.
For the past several months, Sen. Joe Manchin has been the subject of national and international headlines alike. With the tight Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate, the moderate Democrat from West Virginia, first elected in 2010, has had…
Review: Book Details Overlooked Black Experience in Appalachian Coal Camps
William Turner’s “Harlan Renaissance” shows how Black Appalachians built sustaining communities in the midst of racism and discrimination. One of the oldest and most enduring myths about the Appalachian Mountains is that they are now and…
As COVID Strained Appalachian Campus Mental Health Services, This Kentucky University Struggled to Keep Up. Some Students Say It Didn’t.
At Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky, Martin, a junior who does not wish to be identified by last name, had an initial assessment done with the on-campus counseling center in the spring of 2019. That was before quarantine…
Commentary: New Uses For Former Mine Lands Stop at Economic Potential, But Appalachian Species Are Thriving on Rehabilitated Sites
“Hey! We’ve got something!” There’s excitement in the college student’s voice as they call me to an overturned log in the forest where we’re spending the afternoon. Instead of our usual menu of field trips to…
Places of Worship in West Virginia Grapple with COVID’s Impact on Holiday Services
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic this spring, Pastor Nancy White has shifted the way members of her congregation at the Milton Methodist Church in Milton, West Virginia, worship together. Initially, the virus closed the church,…
How One University Mascot Has Influenced Generations of West Virginians
West Virginia University’s mascot, the Mountaineer, is a big deal in the state. In fact, fans are called ‘Mountaineer Nation.’ West Virginians have long identified with the mascot as it symbolizes independence, strength and curiosity —…
Commentary: For a Generation of Appalachians, COVID-19 Has Delayed Our Dreams. But We See the Light.
This time of year in North Carolina’s foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, the weather just cannot seem to make up its mind. Not cold enough to be refreshing, not warm enough to be a relief. Not quite winter, but not quite spring. Just…
