Gov. Jim Justice has declared May 2024 Older Americans Month in West Virginia, aiming to honor older adults' contributions to society and raise awareness of senior services.
Too many times, when stories of Appalachia are in the national spotlight, we hear shallow, shocking and grim stories. But they miss some of the most inspiring aspects to our realities: the struggle, the perseverance and the resilience. On this week’s episode of Inside Appalachia we’ll meet storytellers who work to help Appalachians tell their own stories, and capture the true Appalachian spirit behind the statistics.
We hear from filmmakers and writers who strive to tell the real story about what it’s like here.
We’ve invited guests with some impressive talent to this week’s show, including filmmakers John Sayles and Maggie Renzi, whose film Matewan, about the West Virginia Mine Wars, was made 30 years ago.
“And I do think that the more that people can speak for themselves and not have other people interpret their own story and their own history, then there’s an opportunity to educate people around you and show what the real story is,” Renzi said.
How Three Huntington Women Are Fighting the Opioid Crisis
We’ll also hear from filmmaker and West Virginina native Elaine McMillion Sheldon. Her new film Heroin(e) is about three women in Huntington who are working to help people suffering from the Opioid Crisis. There will be a special screening of Heroin(e) on Thursday, Oct. 26, in Huntington West Virginia, and another screening on Thursday, Oct. 27, in Whitesburg, KY. The screenings will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon and Huntington’s Fire Chief, Jan Rader, one of the women featured in Sheldon’s film.
Novelest Wiley Cash
Author Wiley Cash’s newest novel, The Last Ballad was set in the Appalachian foothills of North Carolina in 1929 and was inspired by actual events related to the labor movement in that region. We’ll hear him talk about his newest book.
Larry Dowling Wins W.Va. Filmmaker of the Year
WVPB’s own Larry Dowling recently won the W.Va. Filmmaker of the Year award. We’ll talk with him about how he approaches telling West Virginia’s story, how he perceives the national media and what filmmakers often miss when they depict Appalachia.
The Struggle to Stay
And we’ll meet the next person in our Struggle to Stay series, Kentucky native Derek Akal, whose mother and grandparents instilled a desire in him to leave Appalachia. “I got it in my head that I could make it out and actually be somebody for myself.”
But a football injury put Derek’s plans of leaving on hold, at least for now.
Special thanks to WMMT in Whitesburg, Kentucky, and the Ohio Valley ReSource.
Inside Appalachia is produced by Jessica Lilly and Roxy Todd. The executive producer is Jesse Wright. Glynis Board edited our show this week. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Claire Hemme helped with our digital correspondence. You can find us online on Twitter @InAppalachia.
On this West Virginia Morning, according to state code, the attorney general’s job is to enforce West Virginia’s laws as they relate to – listed in order – consumer protection, unfair trade practices, civil rights and other important areas. As Randy Yohe shows us, the four primary candidates running for attorney general, two Republicans and two Democrats, have diverse views on the overall mission of the office.
On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia is seeing a boom in low and no-carbon manufacturing, thanks to tax credits and other federal programs designed to spur investment in energy communities. Curtis Tate spoke recently with Brian Anderson, a senior adviser on energy communities at the U.S. Department of Energy. They spoke at the University of Charleston.
On this West Virginia Morning, the Jewish holiday of Passover is coming to an end. It is a time for celebration and reflection. This year, it has been a bit more difficult, according to Rabbi Victor Urecki from Charleston. He spoke with News Director Eric Douglas to discuss the holiday and the struggle with the war in Gaza.
In March, broadcast journalists from Virginia and West Virginia were recognized when the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters met to present awards for notable stories produced in 2023. This week, we listen back to some of our award-winning stories.