For decades, coal was king in West Virginia. It paid good wages, paid the bills for many local services through taxes, and kept small towns alive. But more of our nation’s electricity is starting to come from other sources like wind and solar power. Coal is losing out. This Us […]
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End-of-life caregiving is an ancient practice that’s now re-emerging in the death positivity movement, which urges a shift in thinking about death as natural and not traumatic. Vivette Jeffries-Logan and Omisade Burney-Scott are friends for life—and collaborators in death. Three years ago, when a mutual friend realized she wouldn’t survive […]
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Sesame Street has a history of tackling big issues. Last week, they launched a new short film to help kids going through tough times when their parents are struggling with addiction. Sesame Street has a program called Sesame Street in Communities, which is provided to kids, teachers and parents. It includes […]
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Think back to the last time you saw an Appalachian portrayed on TV, in the national media, in a book or a cartoon. Often, when people talk about Appalachians, they portray us as white, or poor, or ignorant — or all three. But when you dig beneath the surface, and […]
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The Housing Development Alliance in Hazard, Kentucky, found that volunteers referred by the Drug Court were some of their hardest workers. Now the nonprofit organization and others are creating an employment program to help those in addiction recovery get back on their feet. In Hazard, Kentucky, the mission of the […]
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Author Crystal Wilkinson is the 2019 Appalachian Heritage Writer-in-Residence at Shepherd University. Wilkinson’s second book Water Street was chosen by the West Virginia Library Commission as this year’s One Book One West Virginia common read. Wilkinson was born in Hamilton, Ohio, in 1962, but she grew up in Kentucky with her grandparents Silas and Christine Wilkinson. […]
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