Young people in Appalachia are being shaped in an era fraught with political unrest, surrounded by almost insurmountable global issues that will shape the world they inherit. But all at once, they are expected to both save the world and care far less about things too serious for them to understand. Here, we give young Appalachians space to think out loud, examine and amplify issues they know are impacting their identities, their communities and, by extension, their politics.
Many young Appalachians, regardless of later political affiliation, can recall the childhood moments they learned how free they were to voice their own thoughts about contentious topics with family members. Julia Pritt, 24, originally from Hurricane, West Virginia, recalled her excitement the week gay marriage was legalized in June 2015. […]
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“West Virginia” is never what people are looking for when they ask where my family is from. The first week of January, my dad and I drove five hours from our house in North Carolina to visit his hometown of Charleston, West Virginia, for a family friend’s memorial service. We […]
Read MoreOriginally published on June 2, 2024. Republished with permission from The Intercept, an award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to holding the powerful accountable through fearless, adversarial journalism. Sign up for The Intercept’s Newsletter. Much of the national conversation around student protests against Israel’s war on Gaza has centered on elite […]
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Isabella McMillian, an 18-year-old philosophy major in Boone, North Carolina, is proud of her identity as an Appalachian. She loves the beauty, culture and history of the region, and is happy that she gets to be a part of it. However, as a queer woman, she says watching people she […]
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As a queer and gender-nonconforming person navigating life in a region deeply entrenched in Christianity, I find myself straddling two worlds. While I don’t hold any religious beliefs, I cannot deny the profound impact that Appalachian and Deep Southern Christianity have on the queer experience. Not only is religion pitted […]
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In March of 2020, after years with a therapist, I was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. While I was at a loss for words and confused by the diagnosis, everyone I asked could see it. Ever since I was young, I would become absolutely consumed by subjects that seemed odd […]
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