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More than a Stereotype: A Young West Virginian Wants a Different Conversation
In school growing up, it wasn’t uncommon to learn about what made each of our 50 states unique, and I was no exception: Florida is known for its beaches. Wisconsin is known for cheese.…
Four years after being elected to the Parkersburg City Council with help from progressives, Eric Barber was all in for Trump. Co-published…
This story originally appeared in The Washington Post Magazine. At 11 a.m. each Sunday — labeled by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as…
As a kid, I delighted in grossing out my elementary school classmates with details of how my lower-income, Middle Tennessee family ate…
In Pittsburgh, Union Membership is Changing, Forcing the Unions of Our Past to Learn to Serve Workers’ Needs Today
Some days, West Penn Hospital nurse Kayla Rath barely has time to eat. “If you could take a lunch break by three or four o’clock and just scarf down your food, then that was a good day,” she said. Rath, a postpartum nurse at…
Affrilachian Poet Bernard Clay Discusses New Collection ‘English Lit’ and His Appalachian Roots from an Urban Upbringing
Published in August of this year, “English Lit” is Bernard Clay’s autobiographical poetry debut – one that took decades to complete. “A lot of the poems I started writing when I first started writing poetry back in high school,” Clay…
‘A Union for Appalachian Healthcare Workers’: W.Va. Author’s New Book Recounts History Amid Resurgence of Labor Organizing
In his new book “A Union for Appalachian Healthcare Workers: The Radical Roots and Hard Fights of Local 1199,” John Hennen tells the story of a union founded in New York City that worked its way into Appalachian communities. Hennen, a…
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is Dead. But for Some W.Va. Landowners, It Lives on
This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. For more stories from Mountain State Spotlight, visit www.mountainstatespotlight.org. When Jeff Mills moved to Doddridge County with his wife nearly 50 years ago, he…
Commentary: Celebrating Another Ramadan in a Pandemic Has Meant Learning Patience and Perseverance in Times of Uncertainty
The spring semester of college for me has been quite a spiral. My days consist of spending many hours finishing assignments and attending my lectures, but also fasting from sunrise to sunset and trying to spend more time reading the…
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 —…
‘A Life-defining Year’: We’re Marking One Year of Publishing the Stories of Appalachian Youth
For the past week, I’ve plopped down to write about the one-year mark of a project we thought would last roughly eight weeks. Last October, we launched the Appalachian Youth Creators vertical, because we wanted to give young people space to…
