The West Virginia Mine Wars are an important but little known piece of American history. Coal miners in southern West Virginia had been trying to organize a union, while coal companies tried to stop them. Strikes and violent clashes ensued, culminating in the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921. A version of the story is told in the new graphic novel “Black Coal and Red Bandanas: An Illustrated History of the West Virginia Mine Wars.” Mason Adams spoke with its author, Raymond Tyler.
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This week’s episode of Inside Appalachia is an encore episode filled with rich storytelling and cross-cultural collaborations. What happens when a musician from Belarus gets together with Appalachian folk musicians? And we’ll talk with Affrilachian writer Crystal Wilkinson, who has been named this year’s Kentucky Poet Laureate. You’ll hear these stories and more in this episode.
You can find recipes for pull candy online. But be prepared to fail, if you’ve never made it before. It’s hard to get it right. But it’s amazingly soft and creamy to eat.
Zack Harold
Joe Parcell has been using the same simple hook to pull his cream candy for 20 years.
Crystal Wilkinson Named Kentucky’s ‘21-’22 Poet Laureate
Crystal Wilkinson is the first Black woman in Kentucky to hold the title of Poet Laureate. Wilkinson is an associate professor of English at the University of Kentucky. Over her career, Wilkinson has focused much of her writing on Black women and their experiences in Appalachia.
“In a way, this book is sort of dispelling these sorts of stereotypes about blackness. I think many people think of blackness as being a rural phenomenon. So I think that so many of us who are from the mountains from Appalachia are sort of dismissed or sort of invisible to mainstream society — others don’t really think that we’re here,” Wilkinson said. “So the title also sort of leans into that idea that a rural blackness and an Appalachian blackness can also be a perfect blackness. There is no one way to be black in America.”
Final arguments wrapped up this week in Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy case. The opioid manufacturer is just one of several companies to come under fire in recent years for what some believe is their role in the opioid epidemic. With several of these cases currently making their way through the court system, we thought it would be a fitting time to listen back to an interview with reporter Eric Eyre, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting into the issue. He compiled his reporting into a book called “Death In Mud Link: A Coal Country Fight Against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic.”
Last year, West Virginia’s New River Gorge National River became the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. It’s the 63rd national park in the U.S. and the first in West Virginia. Those who fought for the change say it could make all the difference for the local tourism economy.
Appalachia is no stranger to music as a form of protest. A new, cross-continental connection between Slavic and Appalachian folk musicians has given the form a unique flavor.
Char Reich/100 Days in Appalachia
Brett Hill attended Belarusian musician and activist Siarhei Douhushau first American show at a small bar in Athens, Ohio, in March 2019, which was the start of a music collaboration that has now reached across an ocean during a global pandemic.
This week on Inside Appalachia, we hear a story from 100 Days in Appalachia’s Chad Reich about the musical collaboration known as Slavalachia and how this musician collaboration has lent its voice to an uprising halfway around the world from its roots in Athens, Ohio.
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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was by Florence Reece, Wes Swing, Dinosaur Burps and Slavalachia.
Roxy Todd is our producer. Jade Artherhults is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Andrea Billups. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Zander Aloi also helped produce this episode. You can find us on Twitter @InAppalachia. You can also send us an email to InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
The West Virginia Mine Wars are an important but little known piece of American history. Coal miners in southern West Virginia had been trying to organize a union, while coal companies tried to stop them. Strikes and violent clashes ensued, culminating in the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921. A version of the story is told in the new graphic novel “Black Coal and Red Bandanas: An Illustrated History of the West Virginia Mine Wars.” Mason Adams spoke with its author, Raymond Tyler.
There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls straight out of the oven. A baker in West Virginia borrows from her Finnish family roots to put a new twist on this traditional treat. Folkways Reporter Zack Harold has the story.
On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia’s congressional delegation has changed significantly since the election but what do the changes mean for the state. We hear from residents of Eastern Kentucky about federal tariffs, and a music festival in Lewisburg has been supporting recover efforts for seven years.
On this West Virginia Week, state and federal executive orders leave infrastructure and DEI initiatives facing uncertainty. And we hear about resources available for the homeless in the capital city.
