Top Stories
Pain and Possibility: Reckoning with Historic Inequity on the West Side
Derek Hudson has lived on the West Side of Charleston, West Virginia, his entire life. He grew up on Bigley Avenue, a major road that runs parallel to the Elk River and defines the eastern boundary of the neighborhood. After attending local public schools – first Taft Elementary, then what […]
In One Community, Faith-based Services Fill the Gaps When Government Can’t – or Won’t
On a Friday afternoon, the washers and dryers run nonstop at Bream Memorial Presbyterian Church, in Charleston, West Virginia. Three bright-white tiled shower rooms line one wall. MREs – Meals Ready-to-Eat – sit on shelves behind a small wooden reception desk. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the church serves lunch […]
Gentrification or Revitalization? Investment on the West Side a ‘Litmus Test’ for Inclusive Economic Development
Depending on who you ask, the development of the Elk City district on the West Side of Charleston, West Virginia, is either “gentrification” or “revitalization” – though some will say both. Karen Williams, a lifelong Charleston resident who grew up on the West Side, says the transition from homes and […]
Federal COVID Money Could Help Solve One Largely Black Community’s Complex Problems. W.Va. Leaders Invested it Elsewhere.
Karen Williams’ father, Charles Price, was the first Black graduate of West Virginia University’s College of Law, one of two land grant institutions in the state. His office once sat on Court Street, in Charleston, West Virginia’s Triangle District. As a child during the civil rights struggles of the 1950s […]
Meet the Filmmakers of ‘O, Pioneer!’, A Documentary Exploring Life in Appalachia During the Pandemic
We primeval forests felling,We the rivers stemming, vexing we, and piercing deep the mines within;We the surface broad surveying, we the virgin soil upheaving, Pioneers! O pioneers! – Stanza 7 from Pioneers! O Pioneers by Walt Whitman When we hear the word “pioneer” – especially in the Appalachian context – […]
Ready for a Road Trip? A Guide to the Sights & Bites of Central, Southern Appalachia
This summer, our Pittsburgh family took a long-awaited bucket list road trip through Appalachia. We had recently spent 18 months driving the Pan American highway, and while it was an epic journey, the need to deeply explore our roots kept calling to us. We wanted our three children to experience […]
This Pride, ‘I Love My Hometown Whether it Loves Me Back or Not’
1993: Our pastor swayed slowly under the cover of a park pavilion — the kind rented out for graduation parties and wedding showers — and the rest of us stood on muddy grass to look at him. It was our church’s annual sunrise Easter service, held in a small park […]
For Tree-sitter, No Hiding from Heartbreak of Deal to Greenlight Mountain Valley Pipeline
BENT MOUNTAIN, Va. — Theresa “Red” Terry never wanted shades on the windows of her white clapboard farmhouse perched on the side of 2,600-foot Bent Mountain. Such coverings, she insisted, would only mar the 360-degree view of nature’s bounty she so relished. “Every window I looked out, all I could […]
Protestant Leaders Balance Cultural Divides as LGBTQ Issues Split Appalachian Statehouses
On a cloudy March evening, Roxy von Teddy stands in front of what used to be the altar of a Disciples of Christ Church in downtown Athens, Ohio. The former church is now home to the Southeast Ohio History Center, which purchased the building in 2017, but vestiges of the […]
‘Harm Reduction Saves Lives’: Meet the Appalachians Doing the Work
Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.gov. The numbers are now frighteningly familiar: More than a million Americans dead from a drug overdose in the past two decades. More than 100,000 of those deaths came in 2021, […]
In One Community, Faith-based Services Fill the Gaps When Government Can’t – or Won’t
On a Friday afternoon, the washers and dryers run nonstop at Bream Memorial Presbyterian Church, in Charleston, West Virginia. Three bright-white tiled shower rooms line one wall. MREs – Meals Ready-to-Eat – sit on shelves behind a small wooden reception desk. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the church serves lunch […]
Gentrification or Revitalization? Investment on the West Side a ‘Litmus Test’ for Inclusive Economic Development
Depending on who you ask, the development of the Elk City district on the West Side of Charleston, West Virginia, is either “gentrification” or “revitalization” – though some will say both. Karen Williams, a lifelong Charleston resident who grew up on the West Side, says the transition from homes and […]
Federal COVID Money Could Help Solve One Largely Black Community’s Complex Problems. W.Va. Leaders Invested it Elsewhere.
Karen Williams’ father, Charles Price, was the first Black graduate of West Virginia University’s College of Law, one of two land grant institutions in the state. His office once sat on Court Street, in Charleston, West Virginia’s Triangle District. As a child during the civil rights struggles of the 1950s […]
Meet the Filmmakers of ‘O, Pioneer!’, A Documentary Exploring Life in Appalachia During the Pandemic
We primeval forests felling,We the rivers stemming, vexing we, and piercing deep the mines within;We the surface broad surveying, we the virgin soil upheaving, Pioneers! O pioneers! – Stanza 7 from Pioneers! O Pioneers by Walt Whitman When we hear the word “pioneer” – especially in the Appalachian context – […]
Ready for a Road Trip? A Guide to the Sights & Bites of Central, Southern Appalachia
This summer, our Pittsburgh family took a long-awaited bucket list road trip through Appalachia. We had recently spent 18 months driving the Pan American highway, and while it was an epic journey, the need to deeply explore our roots kept calling to us. We wanted our three children to experience […]
This Pride, ‘I Love My Hometown Whether it Loves Me Back or Not’
1993: Our pastor swayed slowly under the cover of a park pavilion — the kind rented out for graduation parties and wedding showers — and the rest of us stood on muddy grass to look at him. It was our church’s annual sunrise Easter service, held in a small park […]
For Tree-sitter, No Hiding from Heartbreak of Deal to Greenlight Mountain Valley Pipeline
BENT MOUNTAIN, Va. — Theresa “Red” Terry never wanted shades on the windows of her white clapboard farmhouse perched on the side of 2,600-foot Bent Mountain. Such coverings, she insisted, would only mar the 360-degree view of nature’s bounty she so relished. “Every window I looked out, all I could […]
Protestant Leaders Balance Cultural Divides as LGBTQ Issues Split Appalachian Statehouses
On a cloudy March evening, Roxy von Teddy stands in front of what used to be the altar of a Disciples of Christ Church in downtown Athens, Ohio. The former church is now home to the Southeast Ohio History Center, which purchased the building in 2017, but vestiges of the […]
‘Harm Reduction Saves Lives’: Meet the Appalachians Doing the Work
Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.gov. The numbers are now frighteningly familiar: More than a million Americans dead from a drug overdose in the past two decades. More than 100,000 of those deaths came in 2021, […]
Three Years after Lockdown, What COVID-19 Taught Us about Grief Traditions in Appalachia
Three years ago, the world shut down. What had been a remote news story about a strange virus in a faraway country swept across the globe and came crashing onto our own shores seemingly overnight. Those days were the “unprecedented times,” the plot twist none of us saw coming. “We’re […]
Latest News
From the Editor: “We’ve Seen The Future, It Looks Like Young Appalachia.”
I’ve been thinking about our efforts since 2016 to collectively rewrite a different future, one where Appalachia, especially young Appalachia, is fully cognizant of the dystopia and hopeful nonetheless.
Inside Election Night As A Student Journalist
Student journalists with The Post, an independent, award-winning, student-run news publication on Ohio University, take readers inside covering election night.
Ahead of Elections, Gen Z West Virginians Focus On the Issues
Five West Virginians spoke to 100 Days about issues on their minds this election.
A Church Channels Rush of Volunteers and Donations in Roan Mountain Flooding Aftermath
The First Baptist Church in Roan Mountain, TN was devastated by a flood nearly thirty years ago. This time around, they knew they could help.
Kentucky’s Amendment 2 is a radical redistribution of wealth from the poorest schools to the richest schools.
Of the many culture shocks I experienced moving from Ohio to the remote eastern Kentucky county of around 10,000 people my grandmother’s family calls home, none was greater than the stark contrast in schools. The district I grew up in, just outside of the Dayton city limits, was by no […]
A Political Power Play Overruled West Virginians in the Path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. They Still Feel Betrayed.
In the wake of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin promising his vote for a major climate change bill in exchange for the pipeline’s remaining permits, people in the project’s path are torn on their next steps.
Front Porch Politics: JD Vance, Tim Walz, and Appalachian masculinity.
From an attempted assassination and an historic withdrawal from the race, the 2024 election has already had more twists and turns than an Aaron Sorkin screenplay. I should be forgiven, then, for how emotionally invested I became in the veepstakes. I did not imagine ever caring this much about running […]
What Arabia Can Teach Appalachia About Floods
Yemen is probably not the first place one thinks of when thinking of Appalachia and its damaging flooding. But maybe it should be.
Officials: Storm Damage, Misinformation Threaten North Carolina’s Election Integrity
Appalachian communities are still reeling from the damage wrought by Hurricane Helene. More than 230 people have died. Homes have washed away. And with major interstates likely to remain closed for months, many folks are struggling to access basic necessities. And while addressing immediate survival needs remains a top priority, […]
Front Porch Politics: One survivor recounts his harrowing escape from Impact Plastics
The morning of Friday, September 27 was “a normal day.” But by that afternoon, six of Robert Jarvis’ coworkers were dead.
Politics
Inside Election Night As A Student Journalist
Student journalists with The Post, an independent, award-winning, student-run news publication on Ohio University, take readers inside covering election night.
Kentucky’s Amendment 2 is a radical redistribution of wealth from the poorest schools to the richest schools.
Of the many culture shocks I experienced moving from Ohio to the remote eastern Kentucky county of around 10,000 people my grandmother’s family calls home, none was greater than the stark contrast in schools. The district I grew up in, just outside of the Dayton city limits, was by no […]
Front Porch Politics: JD Vance, Tim Walz, and Appalachian masculinity.
From an attempted assassination and an historic withdrawal from the race, the 2024 election has already had more twists and turns than an Aaron Sorkin screenplay. I should be forgiven, then, for how emotionally invested I became in the veepstakes. I did not imagine ever caring this much about running […]
Officials: Storm Damage, Misinformation Threaten North Carolina’s Election Integrity
Appalachian communities are still reeling from the damage wrought by Hurricane Helene. More than 230 people have died. Homes have washed away. And with major interstates likely to remain closed for months, many folks are struggling to access basic necessities. And while addressing immediate survival needs remains a top priority, […]
Front Porch Politics: One survivor recounts his harrowing escape from Impact Plastics
The morning of Friday, September 27 was “a normal day.” But by that afternoon, six of Robert Jarvis’ coworkers were dead.
In Appalachia’s Battleground States, Election Officials Worry About Cyber Security, Physical Threats and Misinformation
“Everything is a concern” when it comes to election security, according to the elections director in North Carolina.
Appalachia’s Young Voters Could Impact the 2024 Election
Although many feel apathetic about voting or lack the resources needed to cast a ballot, in some places, momentum is building among Appalachian youth.
Georgia’s Property Tax Referendum Misses the Point
There is nothing Papaw Jordan likes complaining about more than property taxes. It infuriates him that the government can make him pay for a piece of property he owns, the only home he has in a country where — from colonization to the the “manifest destiny” of westward colonial expansion, […]
Young Appalachians Want Better Intergenerational Political Conversations
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. […]
A Love Letter to Appalachia at the End of a Long Week
“It is hard to feel such complicated feelings and to be asked to speak for a place that defies a spokesperson.”
The Number of White Nationalist Groups in Appalachia Is Rising — and the Surge Could Have Implications for Democracy
The number of white nationalist groups operating in Appalachia has increased, according to a recent report by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The rise coincides with a national surge of far-right, anti-government and anti-LGBTQ+ groups, which the SPLC warns could undermine democracy heading into the 2024 presidential election. “With a […]
WV Capitol Renovation Oversight Skirted for Years. Now, a Babydog Mural is in its Historic Seat of Government
This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. Get stories like this delivered to your email inbox once a week; sign up for the free newsletter at mountainstatespotlight.org/newsletter On West Virginia’s 161st birthday, Gov. Jim Justice came to the Capitol Rotunda to unveil four historical murals first envisioned by […]
Front Porch Politics: ‘White Rural Rage’ Gives Voice to My Rage as a Rural Leftist
How can a book be filled with broad generalizations, cynical misrepresentations, and ill-defined parameters — yet still feel true? I’ve been grappling with that question ever since reading “White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy.” Published earlier this year, authors Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman argue that rural America […]
Not Just Coastal Elites: Here’s How Three Rust Belt Colleges Protested Israel’s War in Gaza
Originally 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 […]
‘Hopeless’ Appalachian Youths Prepare to Vote in 2024
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 […]
Front Porch Politics: GOP Attacks on Appalachian Campus DEI Efforts Are About More than Universities
I became president of the Outlet Alliance, our version of what was then popularly known as a gay-straight alliance, my freshman year at Western Kentucky University. I held this position for three semesters before concentrating on my role in the Student Government Association. In my capacity as the SGA Director […]
What My Appalachian Roots Taught Me About Union Organizing
Growing up less than a mile away from the site of the 1892 Homestead strike in Pittsburgh, a steadfast union city, I never thought my first picket line would be in Washington, D.C. On December 7, 2023, I spent my lunch break on the picket line alongside journalists from The […]
Front Porch Politics: An Alabama Democrat’s Roadmap for Defeating Trumpism in Appalachia
You may not have felt it, but last week, Appalachia experienced a political earthquake. The epicenter is Huntsville, Alabama, where Democrat Marilyn Lands won a special election for the seat in Alabama House District 10. The seat was left open after Republican David Cole resigned following his conviction for voter […]
W. Va. Bill Poses Legal Challenges for Faith-based Immigrant Services
Religious leaders say that a bill passed by the West Virginia House of Delegates this week could criminalize faith-based groups that provide assistance to undocumented immigrants. HB 5031 changes the definition of “human smuggling” in state code to transporting or harboring individuals who are known to be in the country […]
Pain and Possibility: Reckoning with Historic Inequity on the West Side
Derek Hudson has lived on the West Side of Charleston, West Virginia, his entire life. He grew up on Bigley Avenue, a major road that runs parallel to the Elk River and defines the eastern boundary of the neighborhood. After attending local public schools – first Taft Elementary, then what […]
In One Community, Faith-based Services Fill the Gaps When Government Can’t – or Won’t
On a Friday afternoon, the washers and dryers run nonstop at Bream Memorial Presbyterian Church, in Charleston, West Virginia. Three bright-white tiled shower rooms line one wall. MREs – Meals Ready-to-Eat – sit on shelves behind a small wooden reception desk. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the church serves lunch […]
Gentrification or Revitalization? Investment on the West Side a ‘Litmus Test’ for Inclusive Economic Development
Depending on who you ask, the development of the Elk City district on the West Side of Charleston, West Virginia, is either “gentrification” or “revitalization” – though some will say both. Karen Williams, a lifelong Charleston resident who grew up on the West Side, says the transition from homes and […]
Federal COVID Money Could Help Solve One Largely Black Community’s Complex Problems. W.Va. Leaders Invested it Elsewhere.
Karen Williams’ father, Charles Price, was the first Black graduate of West Virginia University’s College of Law, one of two land grant institutions in the state. His office once sat on Court Street, in Charleston, West Virginia’s Triangle District. As a child during the civil rights struggles of the 1950s […]
Voting is Safe Across Appalachia. Here’s What to Do if Somebody Tries to Change That.
Voting is overwhelmingly safe throughout Appalachia, as it is across the country. Despite reports showing right-wing, anti-democratic extremists are intimidating voters and election officials at higher rates and in more organized ways than in years past, those efforts are still relatively rare. In West Virginia, for example, no one has […]
Voter Poll: Worries over Inflation Dominate Midterm Election
With two weeks to go before the midterm elections, rural voters are worried about the present, pessimistic about the future, and prepared to vote the way they have in the past, according to the Daily Yonder Rural Poll.   The poll, commissioned by the Daily Yonder’s publishing organization, the Center […]
Why the Gun Safety Bill that Congress Might Pass Won’t Affect West Virginians
This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. Get stories like this delivered to your email inbox once a week; sign up for the free newsletter at https://mountainstatespotlight.org/newsletter A bipartisan agreement on gun control legislation has long felt out of reach for U.S. lawmakers. Years of promises followed […]
In SE Ohio, Community Reflects on Black History Preservation, Its Importance to Democracy
Driving on Route 329, near Athens in the spring is a welcome respite after another long COVID winter. The grass on southeast Ohio’s rolling hills is turning that bright-almost-neon shade of green. I’m on my way to visit Ada Woodson Adams, a historian and activist who has spent decades working […]
The ‘Divisive’ School Lessons States Are Outlawing Have Been Improving Appalachian Education for Generations
Fog obscures the Clinch River on a Saturday morning this past October, as a group of educators gathers at St. Paul, Virginia’s Matthews Park. Shortly after arriving, part of the group moves to the riverbank, discussing how to tackle pollution from illegal dumping into the waterway. Another huddles around an […]
Appalachian Virginia Needs Workers. This Program Is Trying to Bring Them In.
Appalachian Virginia has a workforce problem. “We constantly hear [companies say], ‘We’re advertising positions, but we can’t find people to fill them,’” said Evan Feinman. He serves as executive director for the Virginia Tobacco Commission. “It’s often hard to find qualified folks in struggling counties.” Virginia’s Tobacco Commission, launched in […]
Opinion: What the Left Doesn’t Understand about Rural America
To win in rural communities, Democrats need to show up and help, not heckle. Earlier this month, a small Twitter spat erupted between mystery writer Don Winslow and Tessa Duvall, an investigative reporter with the Louisville Courier-Journal. Winslow, well known as a liberal activist, kicked it off by tweeting, “The two senators […]
Culture
A Love Letter to Appalachia at the End of a Long Week
“It is hard to feel such complicated feelings and to be asked to speak for a place that defies a spokesperson.”
For My Indian-American family, West Virginia Will Always Be Home
“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 […]
When Your Appalachian Music Roots Show Up on the National Stage, A Reflection on the Whizzbanger’s Ball
If there’s anything to be said about the inaugural Whizzbanger’s Ball at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in Glen Jean, West Virginia, it’s that it served as a long-awaited point of intersection for many. During William Matheny’s Saturday afternoon set, the guitarist, songwriter and frontman cracked a joke with a similar […]
In West Virginia’s ‘Poultry Capital,’ Immigrant Workers Struggle to Find the Help and Support They Need
This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. Get stories like this delivered to your email inbox once a week; sign up for the free newsletter at mountainstatespotlight.org/newsletter. Thousands of immigrants have worked at Pilgrim’s Pride’s Moorefield poultry plant, the area’s largest employer. After arrival, they have a hard […]
In One of the Most Dangerous Workplaces in West Virginia, a Poultry Giant Has Profited From Immigrant Labor For Decades
For over three decades, people have come from all over the globe to work for Pilgrim’s Pride’s Moorefield chicken factory. Inside the plant, immigrant workers shoulder a disproportionate amount of the danger. This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. Get stories like this delivered to your email inbox […]
In North Carolina, A Sanctuary for Local Songwriters Emerges: The East Boone Listening Room
It’s 6:30 p.m. on a Friday night in Boone, North Carolina, and a hush falls over the East Boone Listening Room. “We spent many years trying to find a space like this in town,” says artist and songwriter Sarah DeShields. Boone, which is home to Appalachian State University, has plenty […]
Photo Essay: Exploring Trans and Queer Identity through Appalachian, Christian Iconography
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 […]
2023’s Biggest Hits: Our Staff’s Favorite Stories This Year
As we prepare to close the book on 2023, the staff here at 100 Days is thinking back on some of the writing that resonated with them this past year. With topics ranging from religion to community, check out some of their favorites below. ‘Harm Reduction Saves Lives’: Meet the […]
Meet the Filmmakers of ‘O, Pioneer!’, A Documentary Exploring Life in Appalachia During the Pandemic
We primeval forests felling,We the rivers stemming, vexing we, and piercing deep the mines within;We the surface broad surveying, we the virgin soil upheaving, Pioneers! O pioneers! – Stanza 7 from Pioneers! O Pioneers by Walt Whitman When we hear the word “pioneer” – especially in the Appalachian context – […]
Ready for a Road Trip? A Guide to the Sights & Bites of Central, Southern Appalachia
This summer, our Pittsburgh family took a long-awaited bucket list road trip through Appalachia. We had recently spent 18 months driving the Pan American highway, and while it was an epic journey, the need to deeply explore our roots kept calling to us. We wanted our three children to experience […]
This Pride, ‘I Love My Hometown Whether it Loves Me Back or Not’
1993: Our pastor swayed slowly under the cover of a park pavilion — the kind rented out for graduation parties and wedding showers — and the rest of us stood on muddy grass to look at him. It was our church’s annual sunrise Easter service, held in a small park […]
One ‘Here for the Long Haul’ Experience: I Can’t Be a Martyr for Appalachia
I can remember going to a convention for changemakers in West Virginia about four years ago. There was a booth for one organization with the slogan, “Here for the Long Haul.” The idea was that they were here to support the generation of young people that didn’t move away. They […]
Three Years after Lockdown, What COVID-19 Taught Us about Grief Traditions in Appalachia
Three years ago, the world shut down. What had been a remote news story about a strange virus in a faraway country swept across the globe and came crashing onto our own shores seemingly overnight. Those days were the “unprecedented times,” the plot twist none of us saw coming. “We’re […]
‘It Sucks That I Have to Be Scared’: Conversations with Rural LGBTQ Young People
The LGBTQ youth in rural America faces a challenging environment. Some progress has been made in the last two decades, but many still feel threatened and unwelcome in their own communities. Ray Saul spent years frightened for her safety at school. She was outed as bisexual in eighth grade in […]
Phantom of the Black Diamond
The roots of Appalachian communities run deeper than coal deposits, which sustained them for generations. Young leaders coming up in those mountains want to see them thrive once again, but this time the focus is on sustainability. This article was originally published by The Daily Yonder. EDITOR’S NOTE: This article […]
Remembering the Legacy of the ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ Who Rewrote the Appalachian Narrative
I don’t remember the first time I heard “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” The song has been a familiar hymn from infancy, a lullaby my grandmother would sing along with “You Are My Sunshine” and “Rock-a-Bye Baby.” You see, like Loretta Lynn herself, my grandmother was a coal miner’s daughter from eastern […]
‘What Could I Have Saved?’: Eastern KY Floods Took Our Present, But Also Our Past
When people are asked what they’d grab first if their house caught fire, they often give practical answers — purses, wallets, laptops. They also say they’d rescue sentimental belongings — old photographs, the wedding ring passed down through generations, a quilt stitched by grandma. Even though it was a flood […]
Review: ‘Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place’
Neema Avashia’s book points to contradictions resulting from a sense of belonging and identity informed by place as complicated as Appalachia. I want to be Neema Avashia’s new best friend. That was the feeling I came away with after reading her memoir Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a […]
A Taste of Home – How Pinto Beans And Cornbread Became an Appalachian Tradition
Last year, I posted this tweet: “Appalachian folks: I’m hunting for some @InAppalachia story ideas. What’s something your momaw made that’s unique to where you’re from?” It got dozens of replies, a large number of which mentioned pinto beans and cornbread. I found that strange because beans and cornbread are the […]
‘Ginseng Diggers’: A History of Root and Herb Gathering in Appalachia
The following is an excerpt from “Ginseng Diggers: A History of Root and Herb Gathering in Appalachia,” published in March 2022 by University Press of Kentucky. Author Luke Manget is an assistant professor of History at Dalton State College, located in Dalton, Georgia. Henry Webb scanned the ground for plants […]
Keep Your ‘Elegy’: The Appalachia I Know Is Very Much Alive
Ivy Brashear is the March 2022 host of 100 Days’ Creators and Innovators newsletter series. Sign up for the weekly email here. She backed her Cadillac long-ways across the one-lane road in front of her house, lit the Virginia Slim in her mouth, pulled her .38 pistol from her purse, […]
A Historian’s Work to Tell the Largely Forgotten Stories of Frederick Douglass and Central Appalachia
Frederick Douglass is well known in history as a formerly enslaved person who became a prominent writer, activist and abolitionist. But his travels in Central Appalachia and the speeches he gave specifically around West Virginia are much less known. Community historian John Muller has been documenting Douglass’ life for more […]
Commentary: Instead of Raging Over ‘Maus,’ Support Local People Who Are Fighting the Ban
Plenty of people in East Tennessee are livid over a school board’s decision to remove “Maus” from the language arts curriculum. But indiscriminate outrage on TV and social media isn’t helping the local dissenters who are trying to build a better way forward. A few minutes before I gave an […]
Opinion: There’s a Critical Need for Equity in Care, Education for Neurodivergent Kids in Appalachia
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 […]
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. Kentucky is known for fried chicken. What is West Virginia known for? Anyone who lives here […]
Mandelo’s Debut Novel ‘Summer Sons’ Explores Gender, Fuel and Ghosts in the Blood
Gasoline is undead. Petro-masculinity is a revenant. These hills run thick with ghosts. Since fuel is a crucible of Appalachian identity, especially in the minds of outsiders, it matters whether the emerging discourse on “petro-masculinity” is a story we might ourselves tell differently. Kentucky author Lee Mandelo attempts to do […]
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 said. “So a lot of these poems are like time […]
Are Appalachian Foodways at Risk of Being Lost Forever?
As a kid, I delighted in grossing out my elementary school classmates with details of how my lower-income, Middle Tennessee family ate squirrel meat. My grandfather would go out with a hunting rifle and get a mess of squirrels from the woods on our property. Then we’d fry up the […]
Q&A: Kentucky Documentary-Maker Starts Zine That Evokes Memories of an Appalachian Home
In the forward for Familiar Paths, Vol. 1, photographer and documentary filmmaker Jared Hamilton says, “This series is meant to feel like mamaw’s warm blanket on a rainy day.” And it does. The zine is filled with black and white images and contains almost no text, with the exception of […]
Virginia Band Bridges Mexico and Appalachia through Mexilachian Music
With Spanglish lyrics, the pluck of a banjo and strum of a guitarra de son, music by Charlottsville’s Lua Project is hard to place. The band defines its sound as “Mexilachian”—a blend of Appalachian old-time and Mexican folk music. But Lua members said their music also draws on Jewish and Eastern European traditions, with […]
Health
‘Life-changing Support’: In Rural North Carolina, a Program for Treatment of Substance Use Disorder Through Pregnancy and Beyond Offers Care and Counters Stigma
Project CARA works to get people into care and support them — with a goal of better outcomes for both the babies and their parents.
Meet a Doctor Inside a W.Va. Crisis Support Center Who Relies on Hope in Recovery
At the West Virginia University Crisis Support and Recovery Center, the staff takes hope seriously. H-O-P-E is even spelled out in the steel railing inside their living quarters.
Healthcare is Human: A Nurse on the Frontlines of an Addiction Crisis
Angie Gray has spent her entire career in public health nursing and says she knew long ago that West Virginia was vulnerable to many public health issues. Substance use disorder was becoming a problem in West Virginia as she advanced in her career, and its prevalence concerned her. “Our obituaries […]
Finding Solace in Stories: How Narrative Medicine Transformed an Appalachian Doctor’s Practice
In the 1990s when I started medical school, nobody warned me how my job was going to hurt me emotionally. Maybe it’s better they didn’t, as I might have been scared away. I must admit, there were a few omens I foolishly ignored early on. Still, I could not have […]
‘Harm Reduction Saves Lives’: Meet the Appalachians Doing the Work
Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.gov. The numbers are now frighteningly familiar: More than a million Americans dead from a drug overdose in the past two decades. More than 100,000 of those deaths came in 2021, […]
For This W.Va. Family, Legislative Attention on ‘Warehousing’ People with Intellectual Disabilities at State Hospitals Is too Late
Richard Rothermund was healthy and generally happy before he was confined to Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital in Huntington in 2020, according to Sue Rouse, his mother. There, Sue says, a lack of independence, separation from loved ones and the decline of joyful moments in his life led to the drastic deterioration […]
HIV Outbreak Persists as Officials Push Back Against Containment Efforts
Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.gov. Brooke Parker has spent the past two years combing riverside homeless encampments, abandoned houses, and less traveled roads to help contain a lingering HIV outbreak that has disproportionately affected those […]
Experts: Peer Recovery Is Valuable Yet Under Sourced Resource in Addiction Treatment
Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.gov. There is no simple roadmap to recovery from a substance use disorder; no fixed destination toward which to steer. Certainly, there are mile markers in recovery, and there are those […]
The Federal Website That’s Supposed to Help ‘Find Treatment’ Needs Work, Experts Say
Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.gov. Last year more than 100,000 people in the U.S. died from an overdose – the highest number ever recorded. More than a million Americans have lost their lives to overdose […]
Ginseng and Big Pharma: How Appalachia Built an Industry that Would Later Exploit It
More than a century before the likes of Purdue Pharma began flooding Appalachian communities with opioids and destroying lives, giant pharmaceutical companies had a very different relationship to the mountain region. Indeed, years of research into business records and country store ledgers has revealed that Appalachian root diggers and herb […]
COVID-19 Didn’t Cause Appalachia’s Housing Crisis, But Advocates Say It Exacerbated It
Candice Kraus’s 10-year-old, Timothy, lives with sensory processing disorder. Camping was a terrifying experience. Kraus and her family – Timothy, 9-year-old Gracie and Kraus’s husband, who’s no longer living with them – weren’t camping for pleasure. In late May, they were evicted from the trailer in which they’d lived for […]
‘Recovery is Possible’: National Addiction Expert Discusses Stigma, Recovery
Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment hotline (1-800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.gov. For more than a year, a team of folks from 100 Days in Appalachia and the Opioid Policy Institute have been working on ways to address unintentional stigma that often appears […]
Q&A: Appalachian Pediatrician Talks COVID-19 Vaccine for Kids
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 1.5 million children aged 5-11 have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The lower-dose was approved for children by the head of the CDC earlier this month. Lisa Costello is a pediatric hospitalist at WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital, president […]
Commentary: A Key to Solving Appalachia’s Mental Health Crisis? Culturally-responsive Care.
When I entered adulthood and moved out of the house to attend college more than three hours away in Louisville, I made a commitment to myself that I would prioritize my mental health. Back home, people didn’t really go to therapy. This was due to several factors: extremely limited access, […]
‘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 Morehead State University emeritus professor of history, says he […]
When You Aren’t Old Enough for a Vaccine: An Alabama Sixth Grader on COVID-19
This article was written before FDA authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of 12. The COVID-19 pandemic has been by far the most distressing experience of my life. We learned to live wearing masks and only hang out with our friends outside. Over the past eighteen […]
What Hulu’s Newest Series Won’t Show You: A Virginia Community Solving Its Opioid Crisis
Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.gov. The report didn’t bring good news. In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said doctors in Martinsville, Virginia, gave out more opioids per person than any other city […]
Medication and Recovery: Doctors Say Access to Critical Addiction Care is Difficult in Appalachia
Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.gov. Matt Carroll has stories to tell – stories he’s not proud of but shares for a purpose. After years of living with substance use disorder and through multiple incarcerations associated […]
COVID Fears, Stress and Anxiety Continue for College Students Back on Campus
As college students around the country returned to campus this fall, the start of the semester came with an ongoing set of challenges during a pandemic, including academic stress, lack of social and emotional support, and moving to a new place, all of which affects students’ mental health. But some […]
Q&A: A Health Reporter on Challenging Addiction Stigma Through Ethical Journalism
Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.gov. Journalists hold a lot of power in the communities they report, and the choices they make in their reporting can reinforce the stigma that’s already present – whether journalists mean to […]
Commentary: Granting the Sacklers Immunity is a Miscarriage of Justice
“And they wonder why folks don’t trust the vaccine.” That was my first thought when I saw the news last week that the Sacklers – the owners of Purdue Pharma and the family behind OxyContin and by extension the opioid crisis – have been granted immunity from all future lawsuits […]
When Your Work Is Hands-on and In-Person, One PT Says COVID Was a Huge Challenge
The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for Kelley Rankin. He works as a physical therapist in Hedgesville, West Virginia, and says he doesn’t think people realize how hands-on his field is – they treat pain, restore function and educate their patients on leading a healthier life. “It was […]
Did a Truck Carrying Moderna Vaccine Crash? And Did the Pentagon Handle the Recovery?
Did the U.S. military take over the site where a truck carrying coronavirus vaccines crashed in Morgantown, West Virginia? That’s what a recent viral social media post said. The viral tweet, also shared across other social media platforms, said that “near Morgantown, WV, a Moderna shipment truck crashed, hazmat dispatched, airspace […]
Appalachian Poison Centers Caution Against Treating COVID-19 with Animal Dewormer
“You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.” That is how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration responded last week on Twitter to a recent surge in demand for the livestock deworming drug ivermectin, as word falsely spread across the cyberworld that it was […]
While One West Virginia Town Waits for an Opioid Verdict, Others Still Wait for Their Day in Court.
This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. Get stories like this delivered to your email inbox once a week; sign up for the free newsletter at https://mountainstatespotlight.org/newsletter. Every morning, peer recovery coach Misty Dillon heads into work and has no idea how her day will unfold. In April, […]
As COVID-19 Rapidly Spreads, Kentucky Health Departments Work with the National Guard to Vaccinate at Home
This article was originally published by Ohio Valley ReSource. On an overcast day in Louisville, two men dressed in scrubs get in a truck and leave the Jefferson County Health Department. A few minutes later, they arrive at an apartment complex. “We’re going to be in and out today,” Capt. […]
‘It Doesn’t Have to Be the End’: A Personal Account of Addiction and Hope in Appalachia
Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline 1-800-662-HELP or visit findtreatment.gov. On January 2nd, 2021, I woke up to find Thea Wright dead of a heroin overdose. When the police and paramedics arrived, she was treated like another “junkie,” another nameless […]
West Virginia Once Led in COVID Vaccinations. Now, It’s Looking to ‘Trusted Voices’ to Overcome High Hesitancy.
When the words “West Virginia” appear in health stories written by national media, it’s seldom good news. The state faces long-standing health care challenges, ranking near the bottom in a number of often-cited health outcomes. So it was with considerable pride that in the early days of coronavirus vaccine availability, […]
Rural Tennessee is Losing More Hospitals Than Anywhere in the Country, But COVID-19 Isn’t Fully to Blame
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 Area Medical clinic has come to Jellico, Tennessee, in Campbell County, on the Kentucky border. It’s offering free health care. Haas’s hope for today is that […]
In Southwest Virginia, Reestablishing a Rural Hospital System Requires Rebuilding Trust
This is the second story in Critical Condition, a three part series. Read more here. When the sun rises over the Cumberland Mountains of southwest Virginia in mid-spring, it’s hard to imagine all’s not well in this world. Saturated in mountain laurel and flowering dogwood, this is picture-postcard central Appalachia. […]
Environment
What Arabia Can Teach Appalachia About Floods
Yemen is probably not the first place one thinks of when thinking of Appalachia and its damaging flooding. But maybe it should be.
The Green Smelter: Century Aluminum Promises Kentucky’s Next Big Economic Boost, But with Some Risk
In the 1980s, in the United States, coal and aluminum production were each thriving industries. The production of primary aluminum depended, at that time, on plentiful, inexpensive coal – and the rich mines of Appalachia supplied it. Coal production in Kentucky reached a peak in 1990, and dozens of aluminum […]
From Flooding to Fires: Appalachia’s Recreation Industry Faces Climate Change Challenges
The impacts of climate change are steadily and exponentially being felt here in Appalachia just as they have across the globe, and environmental activists, scientists and outdoor enthusiasts alike find themselves in a race to counter the climate curve in the region. The discussions in some communities, however, have shifted […]
For Tree-sitter, No Hiding from Heartbreak of Deal to Greenlight Mountain Valley Pipeline
BENT MOUNTAIN, Va. — Theresa “Red” Terry never wanted shades on the windows of her white clapboard farmhouse perched on the side of 2,600-foot Bent Mountain. Such coverings, she insisted, would only mar the 360-degree view of nature’s bounty she so relished. “Every window I looked out, all I could […]
‘When the Water Goes Down’: Eight Months Later, Eastern Kentucky Is Still Healing
Swiftly and violently did the rivers, creeks and streams swell. As the raging water rose in the middle of a night, bursts of lightning illuminated the flood just enough that one could see the angry deluge creep ever closer to homes, to churches, to businesses. For many, it swept away […]
Virginia Activists Fight to Protect Green Space from Data Center Development
Prince William County conservationists had hoped a hitch in powering data centers in an adjacent metro D.C. county might doom dreams of an expansion there, but Dominion Energy says the grid is ready to accommodate growth. This is the second in a two-part series, read the first installment here. MANASSAS, […]
In Virginia’s Internet Corridor, Climate Targets and Data Center Growth Collide
Prince William County sustainability officials are crafting a plan to put the county on track to achieve regional climate commitments, but plans to welcome more data centers threaten to put the goals farther from reach. This is the first in a two-part series, read the second installment here. No doubt […]
After the Deluge: Remembering the Stories the Flood Could Not Wash Away
The Buffalo Creek Flood killed 125 and scoured away the homes of more than 4,000. The 50th anniversary offers a chance for those who were affected — directly and indirectly — to mourn the loss and celebrate what endures. “… And Father God, we thank you for this occasion. Even […]
In Appalachia and the Southwest, Indigenous Organizers Want a new Economy for Their Coalfield Communities
This article was originally published by Ohio Valley ReSource. Carol Davis has noticed the West drying up. Where she lives, in the Four Corners area of New Mexico and on the Navajo Nation, years of drought have left former oases dusty and dry. Though the drought has some roots in […]
Opinion: My Time in the Appalachian Climate Corps Changed My Thoughts on Stewardship, the Region
I was slashing multiflora roses with a machete in a Cumberland Gap downpour when I felt some ancient animal instinct take over. Completely soaked through my clothes, I locked eyes with a friend and together we let out a primal scream. My experience serving in the youth climate corps American […]
Black Appalachian Coalition Aims to Shift Narrative on Energy, Other Issues
Appalachia’s people of color have borne greater social and economic burdens, on average, than their White counterparts, but their stories are often left out of policy discussions about energy and other issues in the region. A new coalition is now seeking to amplify those voices. The Black Appalachian Coalition is an initiative of […]
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 wanted enough land to hunt and fish. Now retired from decades with the West Virginia forestry division, […]
Commentary: Biden’s Climate Change Proposal and its Appalachian Consequences
President Biden’s climate plan attempts to set America on a clear path towards carbon neutrality and updating our infrastructure to take into account the energy transition that needs to take place in our country to avoid further perpetuating the climate crisis. As he heads overseas to a climate conference in […]
Steel-Making Coal Upturn Brings New Mine, Old Problems to WV Community
This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. For more stories from Mountain State Spotlight, visit www.mountainstatespotlight.org. This story was co-published with Southerly, a nonprofit journalism organization that covers the intersection of ecology, justice, and culture in the American South. It started with the noise, the round-the-clock roar of a […]
‘It Just Roared’: N.C. Flooding Another Sign of Climate Change in Appalachia
The force of it still resonates. So much water, so fast, and with it, homes thrust off their foundations, campers and trucks swept miles away, boats now grounded a ways from any shore. In just moments, it was over; in its wake, six dead, more than $300 million of destruction, […]
Meet the Virginia Conservationist Trying to Turn Old Coalfields Into Solar Farms
Brad Kreps directs the Nature Conservancy’s Clinch Valley Program, which is working to make the vision of developing solar energy projects on former coalfields a reality in central Appalachia. Chatter about the potential of covering played-out coalfields in central Appalachia with solar arrays has simmered for years. Progress on the […]
Photos: Alabama Union Miners Enter Fourth Month of Strike, Thousands Rally for Wages and Benefits
Some 2,000 coal miners and allies attended a rally in Brookwood, Alabama, Wednesday in support of local United Mine Workers members as they enter the fourth month of a strike over contract negotiations with Warrior Met Coal. The strike, which began on April 1, 2021, came after miners working for […]
Five Months Later, Eastern Kentuckians are Still Coping with Fallout of Spring Flooding
This article was originally published by Ohio Valley ReSource. Early on a rainy March morning in Jackson, Kentucky, Yolanda Goff found herself abandoning her trailer on Quicksand Road forever. She didn’t think the floodwater would crest so high, but when she woke that morning, it was in the yard and […]
The Straining of North Carolina’s Chattooga River and the Indigenous Artform that Could Save It
I climb a boulder that juts out into rapids. The rushing water is so loud it drowns out my breath. I’ve come to the banks of the Chattooga River for solitude, for the way water carries away inner noise. I’m here early enough that I get a few moments of […]
To All the Morels We Found Before: On Finding Morels – and Finding Yourself – in Appalachia
As a little kid growing up in Southeastern Ohio, I always looked forward to late March and early April. I loved these months for a lot of reasons; they signaled early spring, the promise of the end of the school year just around the corner, and the beautiful blooms peaking […]
W.Va. Lawmakers Remain Desperate to Prop Up the Dying Coal Industry. Residents are Paying the Cost With Higher Electric Bills.
This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. For more stories from Mountain State Spotlight, visit www.mountainstatespotlight.org. In response to pressure from utilities and consumer advocates, West Virginia lawmakers have watered down a bill originally designed to make it difficult — if not impossible — for utilities to shut down the […]
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 off-campus nature preserves and parks across southwest Virginia, COVID-19 has forced my Vertebrate Zoology […]
AppHarvest Promotes New Ag Methods in Appalachia
A start-up, backed by nearly half-billion-dollar investment, seeks to create living wages and sustainable agricultural practices in the region. Some worry about the impact on traditional farmers and others about the source of the funding. AppHarvest, the brainchild of Jonathan Webb, son of Corbin, Kentucky, hopes to deliver indoor, large-scale […]
Federal Regulators Are Rewriting Environmental Rules So a Massive Pipeline Can Be Built Across West Virginia
This story was originally co-published by Mountain State Spotlight, a nonprofit newsroom covering West Virginia, and ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Last month, a federal appeals court blocked one of the key permits for construction of a massive natural gas pipeline that cuts through West Virginia and that […]
Commentary: I’m a Youth Climate Activist, Not an Environmentalist
Even though I have marched with climate strikes, helped organize protests and advocated for a Green New Deal, I am not an environmentalist. It sounds contradictory: how could someone who has fought against a pipeline being built through their town, gone on strike in the name of fossil fuel divestment […]
Blackjewel Coal Moves To Liquidate, Leaving Millions Unpaid To Workers And Regulators
This article was originally published by the Ohio Valley Resource. The convoluted bankruptcy of coal company Blackjewel has hit another turn of events as the company’s former CEO moved to liquidate the company. A federal judge is considering a motion submitted last week to convert the bankruptcy from Chapter 11 […]
As Coal Declines, AML Pilot Economic Development Program Faces Uncertain Future
For the past four years, the Abandoned Mine Land Fund has been expanded to support restoration that helps economic development. But funding for the program is tied to current coal production, and that stream is starting to dry up. A Home-Run for an Ohio Community In 2009, Wellston, Ohio, was […]
Along Mariner East, Secrecy and a Patchwork of Emergency Plans Leave Many at Risk
As the Mariner East pipelines become a permanent underpinning of Pennsylvania, secrecy and a patchwork of emergency plans have left many communities in the dark about what to do in case of an accident. Winding through green forested hills, the road to Meadowbrook Mobile Home Park in York County is […]
Ohio Valley Coal Mine Executive Bob Murray Dead at 80
This article was originally published by Ohio Valley ReSource. Robert E. Murray, the founder and former president and CEO of Murray Energy Corp., formerly the largest privately held underground coal company in the country, has died. He was 80 years old. Murray’s death was reported Sunday evening by television stations […]
W.Va.’s New River Gorge Rock Climbers Grapple With Racist Route Names
Standing at the base of “The Hole,” a gargantuan rock formation in West Virginia’s New River Gorge, you can hear water coming down the mountainside, rushing to the river below. Looking up, you’d see the rock shooting hundreds of feet overhead, curving as it goes, to form an imposing-looking overhang. […]
Religion
What is the New Apostolic Reformation? How a Religio-Political Movement is Affecting U.S. and Appalachian Politics
Here’s some context and clarity about the relationship between dominion theology and the NAR, the “apostles” and “prophets” who lead this movement, and what it all means for our politics.
Appalachia Was a Spiritual Center of Election Denial in 2020. Some in the Region Are Already Calling on God to Intervene in This Year’s Presidential Election.
Once again, there are “prophetic summits,” revivals and prayer gatherings asking God to intervene in politics.
W. Va. Bill Poses Legal Challenges for Faith-based Immigrant Services
Religious leaders say that a bill passed by the West Virginia House of Delegates this week could criminalize faith-based groups that provide assistance to undocumented immigrants. HB 5031 changes the definition of “human smuggling” in state code to transporting or harboring individuals who are known to be in the country […]
Protestant Leaders Balance Cultural Divides as LGBTQ Issues Split Appalachian Statehouses
On a cloudy March evening, Roxy von Teddy stands in front of what used to be the altar of a Disciples of Christ Church in downtown Athens, Ohio. The former church is now home to the Southeast Ohio History Center, which purchased the building in 2017, but vestiges of the […]
Food and Faith: Church Dinners Have Served as Places to Build Community for Generations
For years, Roberta Lee Levine has baked noodle kugel – a traditional Jewish egg noodle casserole made with apples, cinnamon, cream cheese, cottage cheese, and raisins. “I’ve made it for bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, weddings, ” she said. “Everybody says I make the best.” Saturday, Levine and her husband, Richard, […]
White Supremacy and White Christianity, An Interview with Author Robert P. Jones
In his book “White Too Long,” Robert P. Jones, president and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute, digs into how white supremacy as part of the history of the white Christian church and the implications the past has for understanding racism in the United States today. In this interview, […]
White Supremacy in White American Christianity, Explained
The phrase “White Christian Nationalism” may well be the religious term of 2022. Since the House Subcommittee hearings on the January 6 Insurrection this summer, many Americans have seen photos and videos of Christian flags and crosses alongside banners supporting then-President Donald Trump. Seeing the overt mingling of Christian symbols […]
Why the Religion Beat? Reporting on Faith Can Protect Our Democracy
I’ve been asked the same question for a few months now. It goes something like this: “Why the religion beat?” That’s usually followed by: “I’ve never heard of religion as a journalism beat.” This question came up a lot earlier this summer during Report For America’s national gathering in Chicago. […]
Kentucky Flooding Tests Faith-based Disaster Response in Appalachia as Church Membership Declines
In eastern Kentucky, they waited for the rain to stop. “I’ve never heard that much rain that hard in my life,” said Tracy Counts, who attends First Presbyterian Church in Hazard, Kentucky, one of the hardest hit communities in last week’s historic flooding in the eastern mountains of the state. […]
Power and Faith: These Two Religious Coalitions Can Teach Us A Lot about American Politics Today
“In America, we don’t worship government, we worship God.” Former Pres. Donald Trump focused on cementing his relationship with the Christian right in his June keynote address to the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s national conference. “We know that families and churches – not government officials – know how to create […]
The Appalachian Pastor Who Created a Diverse Congregation in an Overwhelmingly White Community
This story originally appeared in The Washington Post Magazine. At 11 a.m. each Sunday — labeled by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as one of the most segregated hours in Christian America — an Appalachian church goes live on YouTube and Facebook. Organ chords and a rat-a-tat drum beat kick […]
Political Conflicts Are Escalating in Sanctuaries of Southwestern PA Churches. Can They Heal?
Racism, abortion, same-sex unions, mask-wearing, vaccines. Churches could be sites of dialogue, pastors say. Now, they’re more polarized than ever. Rev. Jeff Leake, lead pastor of Allison Park Church, a multi-campus worship community just north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, posted about his first COVID shot on Instagram. He meant his photo […]
Christians Are Politically Divided. Two Pittsburgh Seminaries Explain How They’re Readying Pastors for the Minefield.
In the part of Appalachia near Pittsburgh, new pastors could have widely different experiences. They might be called to churches in the inner city or rural towns. They might serve 200-year-old legacy churches or start-up congregations. Their congregations may be active in the Black Lives Matter movement or participate in […]
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 Quran. This is the second year COVID-19 has affected our […]
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, but during the summer months, White began to provide recorded sermons over Facebook […]
Young, Rural and Jewish: Meet Teens Who Are as Diverse and Interesting as the Places They Call Home
Their small-town neighbors aren’t familiar with the faith. Their urban counterparts barely know they exist. As the only Jew in his elementary school other than his brother, Eli Baldwin had his mom visit class to teach his peers about Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. From a young age, Marisa […]
Commentary: The Confederacy, QAnon and the Cult of the Shining City
It’s appropriate that I began reflecting on what to write in this piece on the Fourth of July, the celebration of America’s independence. After all, I grew up in a small Indiana town that held the state’s biggest Independence Day parade. People came from miles around to watch the floats, […]
COVID-19 Has Changed How Muslims In W.Va. Worship
COVID-19 has changed many aspects of worship for people of different faiths, including religious holidays. During Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, fasting and communal meals in the evenings normally mark many of the tradition. This year, things were different, as Muslims across the globe were unable to meet in person […]
The Movement for Black Lives Has Always Been Spiritual
When the Rev. Al Sharpton implored white America to “get your knee off our necks” at the memorial of George Floyd, his words were carried by news outlets across the globe. Meanwhile in the U.S., the Rev. William J. Barber II has been an ever-present voice in the protests, prompting […]
A Return to Normal Hasn’t Quite Happened in Many Houses of Worship in Appalachia
The stretch of U.S. 23 in Kentucky from Ashland to Louisa is littered with Christian churches – Methodist, Church of Christ, Baptist, Nazarene – and on a recent Sunday, the drive down the winding, rural highway showed parking lots in some places littered with cars, just until services let out only […]
Appalachians at Home and around the World are Celebrating a Ramadan They ‘Never Imagined’
On a quiet street, across a gravel driveway and up a dozen or so wooden stairs sits a red bag with the words GrubHub embroidered in white letters. Inside, a knotted plastic bag holds white styrofoam containers that are filled with chicken, vegetables, or fish, chickpeas. Saba Ashfaq watches from […]
Closing Our Church Doors Isn’t a Lack of Faith, It’s an Act of Compassion
If there was a seminary class on being a pastor during a pandemic, I missed it. That’s OK, because I have a substantial digital library of biblical commentaries, theological works, and assorted other Christian books. When I realized COVID-19 was a serious threat, I simply typed “pandemic” in the search […]
When Large Gatherings Are Banned, How Do Appalachians Keep the Faith?
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice isn’t afraid to ask God to guide his state through the novel coronavirus pandemic. In a proclamation issued this week, Justice said that West Virginia’s “steadfast and abiding belief in God,” led him to declare March 25 a statewide Day of Prayer. But because of […]
Pallottine Sisters Find a New Legacy in Community Healthcare
When Vincent Pallotti was ordained a priest in 1818, he wrote, “I ask God to make me an untiring worker.” He set about to offer “food for the hungry…medicine and health for the sick.” Pallotti, who lived simply, in Rome, his entire life, worked in fellowship. He established schools and […]
Q&A: A Conversation with W.Va.’s New Roman Catholic Bishop
West Virginia’s new Roman Catholic bishop was installed late last month at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Wheeling. Bishop Mark Brennan was previously auxiliary bishop of Baltimore. Pope Francis named the 72-year-old Brennan to replace Bishop Michael Bransfield, who resigned in September 2018 amid allegations of sexual and financial […]
Q&A: W.Va. Author Rajia Hassib Explores Muslim, American Tensions in ‘A Pure Heart’
In “A Pure Heart,” the forthcoming second novel by Egyptian-American author and Appalachian Rajia Hassib, protagonist Rose struggles to reconcile her identities as both an Egyptian and an American after her sister is killed in a suicide bombing in Cairo. Rose married an American – a West Virginian– and immigrated […]
Opinion: An Agnostic in the Bible Belt
In my small town, not all of us believe the same thing. But that doesn’t stop us from believing in each other. Growing up in the South, we always congregated around churches. Believing in God felt a lot like believing in each other. For many years, I equated the belief […]
There is More Than One Religious View on Abortion – Here’s What Jewish Texts Say
Alabama’s governor signed a bill this week that criminalizes nearly all abortions, threatening providers with a felony conviction and up to 99 years in prison. It is one of numerous efforts across the United States to restrict access to abortion and challenge the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. […]
VIDEO: A W.Va. Community Responds to Religious Violence of Past and Present
One Appalachian community is responding to violence of the past and present targeted at religious groups. At their annual reading of the names ceremony, the B’nai Sholom Synagogue in Huntington, West Virginia, brought together community members in a ceremony to remember victims of the Holocaust. Just a few blocks away, […]
How Safe is Your Place of Worship?
Many Americans may be wondering what security measures are in place at their place of worship after a gunman’s attack on a San Diego synagogue service this past weekend left one person dead and three others wounded. The same question was raised after 11 people were killed in the Oct. […]
Sports
How Appalachia Is Growing Its Outdoor Economy Through Collaborations and Capacity Building
All across Appalachia, there are examples of a growing outdoor economy. Damascus, Virginia, hosts thousands of bicyclists a year who whiz downtown on the local rail trail, the Virginia Creeper. Colorful characters include a man who cycles with his pet macaw so he can feel the breeze through his feathers. […]
Communities Brace for Loss of Another Industry as Minor League Baseball Plans to Leave Appalachia
Major League Baseball’s plan to shrink its minor league system is upending a century of professional baseball in West Virginia and throughout Appalachia. The contraction plan, culling more than a quarter of its current teams, is forcing small towns to scramble for alternatives, including joining college or independent leagues. It’s […]
How Lingering Fears From the Pandemic Could Change the Way We Watch and Play Sports
Taiwan’s pro baseball league rebooted operations in mid-April with robot spectators filling the bleachers. A month later, Major League Baseball dropped a 67-page document outlining a plan for bringing back the game. No hugs. No high-fives. No spitting. No showering. No fans. And lots of testing. But the creative ways […]
A Little Daytona In Ona, West Virginia
Ona, West Virginia, is a town with two stoplights, but it’s also a place where legends are made. Greg Sigler has been racing at Ona Speedway for nearly two decades. But today, he’s coaching his 15-year-old son, Cole, from the sidelines, using a headset that lets them talk back and […]
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 true frontiersman attitude. On a football gameday, the Mountaineer stampedes down the field, […]
How Fly Fishing Saved a Veteran’s Life
Army veteran Kyle Chanitz spent two and a half years deployed in Afghanistan, where he saw intense fighting and suffered concussions that led to seizures. When he returned to the U.S., he started taking college classes, but then dropped out to follow the jam band Phish around the country. He […]
The Evolving Culture of W.Va. River Guides
Just about any search on Google for “best white water rafting” includes West Virginia. Around 150,000 people commercially raft a West Virginia river each year, mostly on the New River and Gauley River, which are near Fayetteville, West Virginia. At one point there were just less than 30 rafting companies in the […]
Getting Over: The Disgraced W.Va. Gospel Music Promoter Who Found Redemption in Indie Wrestling
The sound of twanging electric guitars fills the Madison Civic Center, a small gymnasium in the heart of southern West Virginia’s coalfields. It’s “Ride Stallion Ride,” the entrance music for WWE Hall of Fame inductee Cowboy Bob Orton. The 300 fans seated on folding chairs and wooden bleachers during this […]
Can This Appalachian Entrepreneur Solve the Debate Over Paying College Athletes?
Financial insecurity is a common struggle for families in Homewood, a predominantly African-American neighborhood on Pittsburgh’s East End. Although it was difficult at times, Khaynin Mosley-Smith said his family was able to make ends meet. “I didn’t struggle extremely bad, but financially it wasn’t all the way there. My mother […]
Blue Demons: One Family’s Legacy in the Basketball Capital of the U.S.
Coal was king in McDowell County in the 1960s and 70s. At one point, it was one of the richest counties in the country due to coal production. There were more than 53 communities that either had their own mines or housed miners who worked in the area. Because the […]
Rural ‘Recreation Counties’ Show More Population Resilience
From 2010-16 nonmetropolitan America lost population. But counties that have recreation economies (hiking, whitewater, climbing, four-wheeling, etc.) grew slightly over the same period, according to a new report from Headwaters Economics. Rural counties with recreation-based economies are gaining population slightly while non-recreation rural counties are losing population, a new study finds. Households moving to rural […]
Sports and Storytelling: ‘More a Unifier than a Divider’
When we launched our religion vertical, we said, “because religion is community” in Appalachia. When we talked about a sports vertical, we said, “because sports is religion” here. It is a topic that transcends the playing field — and brings many of Appalachia’s stories into focus – from the political […]
Maryland Voters Split on Sports Betting as Programs Take Off in Other Appalachian States
In Maryland, voters are split on whether they’d like to legalize sports betting in their state. The numbers come from a new Washington Post-University of Maryland poll that found a majority– but a slim one– would support legalizing gambling, at 53 percent, but when it comes to strong opinions in […]
Coach Kellie: A Tiny West Virginia High School is Making Football History
It took a few weeks for Hannan High School principal Karen Oldham to realize her school might have made history. She was so busy with the day-to-day grind of running the small, rural Mason County school that it didn’t cross her mind, until an elderly alumnus brought it to her […]
West Virginia’s ‘Bad News Bears’: Chico’s Bail Bonds More a Social Club Than Softball Team
It’s an early August evening on Libertore Field at White Park in Morgantown. The orange prison jumpsuit jerseys of Chico’s Bail Bonds are impossible to miss — and so is our play. But, that’s not necessarily a compliment. On this evening, the team loses in typical Chico fashion. The team […]
Derek Redd: ‘Hot Rod’ Documentary Tells Hundley’s Complete Story
As Tony Caridi and Dan Lohmann began the journey that ultimately led to their documentary “Hot Rod,” the story of “Hot Rod” Hundley’s life through childhood and his legendary careers as both basketball player and broadcaster, they knew they had a great story. It was in the middle of that […]
WVU — Kentucky More Than Just a Basketball Game in Appalachia
On Saturday, West Virginia University’s men’s basketball team will host the Kentucky Wildcats at the Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia. It’s a matchup of two high-profile teams and two volatile, mediagenic head coaches, TV-made for a national ESPN audience. But the game will mean more to West Virginia and Kentucky […]
This Storied Football Town in Ohio is Looking to Revitalize its Stadium — and Fight the Opioid Epidemic
On a late June afternoon, a slight breeze blew as rolling clouds framed the Kentucky hills on the other side of the Ohio, just a stone’s throw away. A new semi-pro football team called the Portsmouth Stealth gathered in a parking lot outside Portsmouth, Ohio’s Spartan Municipal Stadium, home to […]
The Mountaineers as a metaphor: How WVU’s heartbreaking loss reminds us of what else we’re missing
On nights like Thursday night, it feels like it’s the very mountains that are keeping us down. No matter how high we climb, it’s never quite high enough. Very few people outside the state of West Virginia know that the Mountaineers are the winningest college program without a national championship. […]
Community
From the Editor: “We’ve Seen The Future, It Looks Like Young Appalachia.”
I’ve been thinking about our efforts since 2016 to collectively rewrite a different future, one where Appalachia, especially young Appalachia, is fully cognizant of the dystopia and hopeful nonetheless.
100 Days Hiring RFA Reporter to Cover Religion in Appalachia
Upon 100 Days’ founding nearly five years ago, we created for ourselves a set of verticals that, despite the vastness and diversity of our region, speak to who we are as a people. Among those was religion. The commonality of deep faith spans organized religions here and often defines our […]
Our Top Staff-Picked Stories of 2021
As 2021 comes to a close, our staff has been reflecting on which stories impacted them this past year. From Chris Jones’ firsthand experience at the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol to the longterm impacts of COVID-19 told from the perspective of a 6th grader in Alabama, this […]
Commentary: Here’s How You Can Improve Reporting on Addiction
We’ve all seen the call to action: “If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.” This is an omnipresent sentence whenever the media mentions suicide. You see it at the beginning or end of a news story, or before the credits […]
‘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 think out loud, examine issues that impacted their identities […]
Journalism About Addiction Often Perpetuates Stigma. So, We’re Going to Fix It.
Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.gov. Over the past 20 years, every corner of our country has been experiencing an opioid epidemic. Tens of thousands of our neighbors, family members and friends have been taken from us. […]
Appalachia Remembers: 20 Years Since 9/11
On September 11, 2001, I was in the sixth grade at Washington Irving Middle School in Clarksburg, West Virginia. We were sitting in homeroom taking the lunch count when my math teacher walked over from next door and told us to turn on the television in a panic. She left […]
Now Hiring: Part-time Newsletter Writer
100 Days in Appalachia is seeking a knowledgeable, creative and motivated part-time writer to help shape the editorial voice and strategy for our newsletter products. The ideal candidate has a proven talent for writing with experience in copy editing and social media strategy for digital media, and can work collaboratively […]
Commentary: For This Queer Foster Parent, Love is Homemade, No Matter What My Lawmakers Say
“Happiness is Homemade,” the dangling sign to the bakery reads in bold, bright letters as I walk down the sidewalk, contemplating. Everything on Main Street seems so welcoming – pastel colors and invitations to enter and the annual Strawberry Festival already being planned. Kids carry hand-dipped ice cream cones past […]
Q&A: A Black Journalist Turned Community Organizer Shares the Lessons They’ve Learned on How to Make Our Coverage of Race Equitable, Not Extractive
Over the past few months, we’ve been presenting local and regional journalists with tips on how to cover a topic that at times can feel like it’s all encompassing: white supremacy. And as we’ve presented this help to journalists in undersourced newsrooms, we’ve tried to remind you that you must […]
Reporting Locally on Domestic Extremism? Here’s How to Not Platform Their Violence, A Case Study
It’s easy to find examples of how not to cover extremist violence and groups in American news coverage. On the national level, everyone from the New York Times to Fox News consistently platform white supremacists and other dangerous extremist ideologies, handing over their pages or airwaves (inadvertently or not) to […]
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 somewhere in between, in limbo. Waiting. This […]
Commentary: Racial Disparities of COVID-19 Shed Light on the Disparities in West Virginia Journalism
In recent weeks, I’ve watched West Virginia make national headlines and receive praise for its seemingly efficient rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. Just last week, NPR interviewed the head of the state’s task force overseeing the vaccine rollout here to glorify his accomplishments, placing the interview under the headline West […]
Commentary: Why Small Towns Need Student Journalists
February 26 is Student Press Freedom Day, a national day of awareness for student media that highlights the challenges and experiences of high school and college journalists. Growing up in a small town has become a sort of glorified trope in movies and television. The idea of living in a […]
Commentary: In Appalachia, Women are the Change Our Communities Need
In the summer of 2018, my hometown town of Clarksburg, West Virginia, seemed to be experiencing a major crisis. We had a large number of unsheltered residents in our small town and a lack of resources to help them. On any given day, you could drive through town and see […]
National Media Are Platforming Domestic Extremists, Leaving Local Journalists to Deal with the Fall Out. Here’s How We Can Do Better.
Anyone who’s worked in local or regional newsrooms knows what it’s like to have a national news outlet publish irresponsibly inaccurate reporting on something happening in your community. At best, these reports result in additional work for local journalists who now have to push back against this top down misrepresentation. […]
Commentary: Biden Shouldn’t Forget His Promise to Alleviate Student Loan Debt
College is the way to a better life. At least, that’s what I was told growing up in east Tennessee. The textile mills that employed my great-grandparents and grandparents were shuddered, leaving behind only defaulted pensions and a polluted river. The plant that made toothpaste and hair care products that […]
Our Top 10 Stories of 2020
Headlines across the country were dominated this year by three issues: COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter movement and the 2020 presidential election. So too is the case for the digital pages of 100 Days in Appalachia. But in this list of our top 10 original stories of 2020, decided by […]
Steal Our Stories (Well, Credit Us When You Republish)
100 Days in Appalachia is a collaborative nonprofit newsroom. We prioritize working with other publications on creating new content, but know that ours aren’t the only voices in the region, so we also work to bring more attention to the work of our partners. We invite other media outlets to […]
Commentary: My Neighbors May Have Voted for Trump, But I Refuse to Give Up on Them
I drove to the polls on Election Day not knowing what to expect. I decided not to vote early, despite the many texts urging me to do so. I didn’t make this decision out of fear that my vote was in danger of not being counted, but because I’m not […]
Burnt Toast with a Side of Silver Linings: What My Children’s Citizenship Lessons Could Teach Us All
“We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say, ‘It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.” ― Fred Rogers The sun […]
Let Young People Lead: Introducing the Appalachian Youth Creators Project
Over the course of the last few years, I’ve had conversations with dozens of young people about everything from activating peers to be politically engaged in politically-apathetic areas, to the importance of student voice in schools, to the urgency of the youth vote. I always try to conclude those interviews […]
No One Knows Appalachia’s Story Quite Like We Do – So We’re Going to Tell It.
Four years ago, our country was in the midst of one of the most divisive elections in history — one that deepened the divide between rural and urban America. Misrepresentations and overgeneralizations in national media coverage contributed to a homogenized, simplified portrayal of Appalachia – but that’s not a new […]
A Corporation Sees No Future in Small Ky. Papers; Local Journalists Beg to Differ
When CNHI closed two newspapers in northeast Kentucky, the former employees weren’t ready to quit. As a one-man reporter for two newspapers in Carter County, Kentucky, Jeremy Wells never had time to cover school board meetings. Wells was an hourly employee for CNHI, the corporate entity that owned Grayson Journal-Enquirer […]
100 Days Announces Report For America Corps Member
100 Days in Appalachia is pleased to announce Christopher Jones will join our team as a member of the 2020 Report For America reporting corps. Report for America is a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. It is an initiative […]
Preparing Journalism Students for a New Economic Reality in the Wake of COVID-19
As a nation comes together in self isolation and social distancing, I’ve been adapting my face-to-face journalism courses that promote in-the-field experiences for a new virtual and remote reality. I have never felt such a feeling of unknown. Yet I know I’m not alone. I am an assistant professor teaching […]
I Spent Three Years Running a Collaboration Across Newsrooms. Here’s What I Learned.
ProPublica worked with close to 200 newsrooms in the U.S. to crowdsource hate crimes and bias incidents as part of our Documenting Hate project. The collaboration is wrapping up, but its lessons are worth remembering. ProPublica’s Documenting Hate collaboration comes to a close next month after nearly three years. It brought together […]
Join Our Team!
100 Days in Appalachia and West Virginia University’s Reed College of Media seek a full-time Visiting Practitioner-in-residence for a position beginning in January 2020. 100 Days in Appalachia and West Virginia University’s Reed College of Media are seeking a unique candidate with an enthusiasm for exploring the journalistic and scholarly […]