For decades, Joe Manchin has defined and redefined politics in West Virginia. For this episode, Us & Them host Trey Kay asks West Virginia progressives: How is Joe Manchin’s reputation shaping his future and the country’s?
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin may be redefining the nation’s political landscape by reconfiguring the middle.
While some say he’s tough to predict, others insist Manchin’s consistency has come to serve as an important political reference point. As the spotlight shines on the toxic battle between left and right, a man with decades in public office recently helped deliver a rare compromise bill through Congress.
For the past two years, Joe Manchin has seemed to be at the center of the political debate between us and them. This episode offers perspective and analysis on Manchin’s political legacy and the future as we weigh consequences of the midterm elections and how they may play out on Manchin’s next campaign.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council, the CRC Foundation and the Daywood Foundation.
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U.S. Senate Photographic Studio
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Joe Manchin is one of the most polarizing figures in current American politics. He embodies the great national divide between ‘us and them.’ And yet, Manchin has never been the focus of our Us & Them show…until now.
West Virginia University
David Fryson is pastor of the New First Baptist Church of Kanawha City and is also a Charleston attorney, a diversity professional and frequent contributor to the Charleston Gazette-Mail. As Fryson points out, the African American vote had a lot to do with Manchin’s victory in 2018.
The West Virginia Encyclopedia
Joe Manchin’s electoral record in West Virginia has been remarkable. Through his long career in politics, he has only lost once, in a 1996 gubernatorial primary. The person he lost to was Charlotte Pritt. Although she’s no longer on the front lines, Pritt has maintained her connections and follows politics closely. She has some provocative opinions about how Manchin fits into the national political landscape.
Denise Giardina is a West Virginian through and through. Born in coal country, raised in a coal family, her entire life is rooted in West Virginia. She is also a committed environmentalist. Her unsuccessful run for governor in 2000 was focused on one thing. To raise public awareness of the dangers of mountaintop removal by the coal companies. After the campaign, her continued activism brought her in contact with then Gov. Joe Manchin. She spoke with him during an event at her church.
Anne Cavalier and Joe Manchin
Active Southern West Virginia
Us & Them listeners may recognize Mayor Anne Cavalier. She’s someone we check in with from time to time. Like many West Virginia towns, her town of Smithers is transitioning away from a coal based economy and building toward a tourism-based infrastructure. To assist this transition, Sen. Manchin secured federal funds for the Smithers Integrated Trail system.
A search committee has been formed to find the next leader at West Virginia State University, and a group of alumni say they have a great prospect.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the group of current and former students wants a West Virginia University vice president put on the short list for West Virginia State’s next president.
David Fryson is vice president at WVU for diversity, equity and inclusion at WVU.
The founder of the draft Fryson group says he’d be a perfect fit.
A Dunbar native, Fryson said he’s honored by the interest in his presidency at his alma mater, but he declined additional comment.
WVSU’s current president, Brian Hemphill, has announced he’s stepping down to become president of Radford University in Virginia.
To recognize the anniversary of the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, West Virginia University is holding a three-day tribute to pioneering African-American student athletes.
Brown v. Board was a watershed moment for civil rights in the U.S. The decision ruled that segregation in schools violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which protects citizens’ basic human rights.
David Fryson, vice president and head of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at WVU, will be one of the speakers during the three-day tribute. He said that while Brown versus Board was an important step for civil rights, there were some negative effects. He said many African-American establishments and schools were closed because they were deemed inferior when he doesn’t believe they really were.
Credit West Virginia University
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Standout WVU women’s basketball player Georgeann Wells.
“And that led us to some of the economic blight and economic challenges that we have in black communities, because we lost our economic base in the name of integration,” he said.
But Fryson said one of the benefits of Brown versus Board was that as black athletes such Garrett Ford excelled at WVU, it showed others in the community what was possible.
“It meant a lot, it really did mean a lot. And for many people, it opened the door to even considering that perhaps a person from an under-represented background could actually matriculate at a place like West Virginia University,” Fryson said.
The tribute, which begins Thursday, April 23, with a welcome presentation at the Erickson Alumni Center in Morgantown, recognizes the pioneering role black athletes played in integrating universities.
Former football players such as Garett Ford, Major Harris and Pat White will be honored along with women’s track and field star Cheryl Nabors Phillips and women’s basketball standout Georgeann Wells, among many others.
Panel discussions with coaches and players will take place Friday at the Alumni Center. African-American student athletes will also be recognized Saturday before the annual Blue-Gold spring football game, which begins at 1 p.m.
