Making Connections News

This month Making Connections News features an August 13th webinar, Black Lung: People, Power and Policy. At this virtual event, Gary Hairston, President of the National Black Lung Assoc., says the disease is diminishing his life while Debbie Wills, who helps miners at one of West Virginia's Black Lung Clinics, describes the long and difficult process for applying for and receiving benefits. Rebecca Shelton from Appalachian Citizens' Law Center describes the shocking increase in the disease, especially among younger miners, and calls on the government to enact regulations that would reduce dust and silica in the mines, and thus Black Lung disease. Willie Dodson with Appalachia Voices encourages listeners to join current grassroots efforts to ensure Congress adequately funds the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. As more and more coal companies declare bankruptcy, sick miners are dependent on this fund for life extending health care, but without an increase in the excise tax that supports it, the Black Lung Dis

This episode focuses on the June 18th launch of the Black Appalachian Coalition in partnership with the NAACP. The launch featured a discussion of black invisibility in the Appalachian region and an urgent call to include African Americans and their communities in regional redevelopment efforts being considered by President Biden and congress. Frank X Walker, Kentucky writer, educator and co-founder of the Affrilachian poets, speaks about the many contributions African American writers, artists and activists have made to the history and culture of Appalachia. Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali describes his family's deep roots in West Virginia and the need to bring forward Black people in the region as leaders, credible messengers, and experts. The Coalition believes their very presence in public conversations can begin to shift fundamental narratives about Appalachia. Central Appalachia includes some of the poorest communities in the nation. Although the region has long provided raw materials to fuel American prospe

This episode looks at the future for coal miners, former mine lands and efforts to rebuild coalfield communities. UMWA President Cecil Roberts speaks about the future he believes his members deserve. At the Reclaim Act Town Hall, Pennsylvania Rep. Matt Cartwright describes the importance of two bills he has introduced that are crucial to the cleanup of abandoned mine lands and economic transition across the country. Mary Cromer, Deputy Director of Appalachian Citizens' Law Center, details the dangers unreclaimed mine lands pose. And Tom Martin from WEKU’s Eastern Standard interviews Clifford Smith and Chris Barton on current efforts in Kentucky to make former mine lands productive.

On Wednesday, April 14, the Ohio River Valley Institute and ReImagine Appalachia held a press conference and released a timely set of reports titled "Repairing the Damage from Orphan Wells and Abandoned Mine Lands." The reports describe an extraordinary opportunity to develop pathways to address the environmental and public health issues of abandoned mine lands and orphan wells, creating over 30,000 well-paying, local jobs in the process. The reports show that solving the climate crisis can be a reemployment plan for the Ohio River Valley and an investment in the region’s future. The public investments we make today to stem climate change can protect our communities and ensure the health of future generations to come.

Eula Hall, health care leader and self described “hillbilly activist,” spent a lifetime assisting her Eastern Kentucky neighbors and encouraging poor people to fight for their rights. After passing away on May 8 at age 93, she was lauded in her native Floyd County, by a Kentucky Congressman and Senator, and in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.  Longtime friends Steve Brooks and Maxine Kenny recall experiences with Eula that began when they came to Eastern Kentucky in the late 1960s and early 70s and worked with her to get the Mud Creek Clinic started, and to address other injustices that poor people were facing at that time. That's followed by a 2013 interview with Eula at an Appalshop book signing event for "Mud Creek Clinic: The Life of Eula Hall and the Fight for Appalachia" by Kiran Bhatraju. Also featured is an interview with labor historian Chuck Keeney, the author of a new history on West Virginia’s Battle of Blair Mountain, now in its centennial year. This story comes to us from Appalach-Ame

While local health professionals encourage all eastern Kentuckians to get vaccinated against COVID-19, it's even more important for those with underlying health issues including those with diabetes and prediabetes. Reporting for our WMMT series "Prevent Diabetes EKY," Parker Hobson speaks to several eastern Kentucky folks who have diabetes, some in health care and some not, on why they think it made sense to get the shot. If you have type 2 diabetes, and you’re looking to get your a1c under control, health departments and clinics across the region offer Diabetes Self-Management Support and Education classes. And if you think you might be at risk for type 2, there are also Diabetes Prevention Program classes that support stopping diabetes before it starts. You can find out more about these programs—and hear local stories about preventing and dealing with type 2—at preventdiabeteseky.org.

In this edition of Making Connections News, eastern Kentuckians dealing with diabetes and prediabetes describe the benefits of getting the COVID 19 vaccine, White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy talks about President Biden’s plans for investment in coal-dependent communities, and two newly-released studies show the positive environmental impact and job growth associated with capping orphan gas wells and cleaning up abandoned mine lands. And finally, a story from Letcher County, KY where some residents are fearful of increased landslides and flooding from mine damaged lands.

This show features Rep. Matt Cartwright and Rep. Glenn Thompson, both from Pennsylvania coal mining districts, introducing the RECLAIM Act and legislation to reauthorize the Abandoned Mine Lands Fund at a March 10 Press Conference. Sponsors describe these bills as bipartisan, and state they could create 13,000 jobs immediately, while helping to ensure coal country is a part of the economic recovery. Following that, members of the RECLAIM Working Group describe the dire need for this legislation and the impact it could have in the Appalachian coalfields, including stories of reclamation projects that are already putting people to work and creating new businesses.

Speakers at the January 12th ReImagine Appalachia Strategy Summit describe their policy blueprint for creating a New Deal - a green economy with good paying jobs in Appalachia, followed by comments from the mayors of Pittsburgh and Huntington who support a "Marshall Plan for Middle America" to redevelop the Ohio River Valley region. Several of the proposals in these plans have now been included or proposed in new federal legislation, an exciting sign of hoped for investment in Appalachia.

This Black History Month episode focuses on current black lives and why they matter for all of us. First, an interview with KY State Rep. Attica Scott who talks about Breonna's Law, legislation she has filed in response to the police killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville last March, as well as her hopes for building a movement of Kentuckians across the state who are working for racial justice and policies that build thriving communities everywhere. Then an interview from the archive with Affrilachian author and educator Crystal Wilkinson recorded just as Wilkinson’s novel "The Birds of Opulence" was coming out. Finally Pastor Edward Palmer calls on us to overcome racism through policy actions, a presentation from the January Kentucky Policy virtual conference.

Pastor Edward L. Palmer addresses the issue of racism, which he describes as a policy failure, equity, and the differing impact that Kentucky state policies often have on African Americans and other People of Color. He also identifies proposed legislation that would improve the juvenile justice system in Kentucky. Palmer pastors The Sign of the Dove Church International, is a certified diversity trainer, state juvenile justice advisory board member, Radcliffe City councilman, and currently National Chair of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice. His presentation was delivered January 15 at the annual conference of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.

"Here in our area, nobody’s alone with diabetes. Any street corner you turn down, every grocery store aisle, every church pew— you know, you’ve probably got somebody sitting right there with you who is battling it, or a close family member who is," says Tiffany Scott. But, she adds, the Appalachians in Control (AIC) diabetes research and outreach project she coordinates in Letcher County, KY has demonstrated that people can delay, or even prevent type 2 diabetes, simply with diet and exercise plans. Listen to Tiffany's story to find out more.

As 2020 was coming to an end, Kentuckians were experiencing unemployment, food insecurity, and housing evictions due to the coronavirus, and frightened about the looming cut off of many aid programs that were passed as part of the CARES Act last spring. At this Dec. 3 press conference they shared their stories. The show concludes with an interview with Jessica Wilkerson and Tom Martin of WEKU’s “Eastern Standard” about her book "To Live Here You Have To Fight: How Women Led Appalachian Movements for Social Justice." Photo: Martha Soukup / Flickr, CC

One in seven Kentuckians have been diagnosed with diabetes, and it is estimated that 1 in 3 have elevated blood sugar levels that could lead to diabetes. Prevent Diabetes EKY shares stories of folks in our region who are showing a way forward by making lifestyle changes to improve their health and the National Diabetes Prevention Programs that are supporting their efforts. On this show we are bringing together stories produced over the past year and a half and celebrating the launch of a new website, www.preventdiabeteseky.org, where stories and resources can be found. Prevent Diabetes EKY is a project of Appalshop, WMMT and the KY Department for Public Health, with support from the Centers for Disease Control.

Brandon Dennison, CEO of the Coalfield Development Corporation in southern West Virginia, contributed his organization's successful model of a wholistic worker training program to the National Economic Transition or (NET) platform, which was released by the Just Transition Fund in June of 2020. In this report, the Just Transition Fund's Heidi Binko describes the goals of the NET Platform while Denison shares the training, education and job creation approach his organization is using to put people to work in central Appalachia.

The population of Appalachia, like most of rural America, is more diverse than many people realize. And the recent support for racial justice has been larger than many expected. When Joseph Palumbo signed on to help organize a Black Lives Matter march in his Eastern Kentucky hometown of Hazard, he figured 50 people would show up. The peaceful event drew about 10 times that amount. The unexpectedly strong response to this and similar events across Appalachia is changing attitudes, including Palumbo's, about what’s possible in small towns across rural America. Tim Marema from The Daily Yonder interviewed Palumbo, who is 33 years old, about the march in June and civic activities that are growing out of it.

Whitney Kimball Coe provides a preview of the Rural Assembly Everywhere, the first time the gathering will be online beginning Monday October 26 and wrapping up Friday October 30. The Rural Assembly is a nationwide movement of people and organizations building a smarter, greener, more inclusive rural America. Coe is the Director of National Programs at the Center for Rural Strategies, the home base of the Rural Assembly. For more information or to register (it's free!) go to www.ruralassembly.org.

Avoiding type 2 diabetes is always a good thing for your health. But health professionals say that diabetes is one of several underlying conditions that could make the symptoms of COVID-19 more severe and potentially deadly. In this story we meet Marilyn Morgan, of Johnson County, and Connie Godsey Duvall, of Cumberland County, two eastern Kentuckians who, despite the difficulties posed by the pandemic, are meeting the challenge of preventing type 2 diabetes head-on. Both have been participating in their local version of the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), and both say the program has helped them not just lose weight, but also keep it off. Also featured is Mary Beth Castle, DPP Lifestyle Coach at the Johnson Co. Health Department, who speaks about her efforts to guide participants through the DPP process amidst the unique circumstances of a worldwide pandemic.

Over 80 local, regional and national leaders worked together for several years to develop the National Economic Transition, or NET, Platform which was released to the public this summer. Built on community driven solutions, it is a framework for large scale investments to assist communities hardest hit by the changing coal economy. Heidi Binko, executive director of the Just Transition Fund, kicks off this press conference which includes comments from the directors of MACED and Coalfield Development Corporation in Appalachia, Tribal leaders from out West, and representatives from the Utility Workers Union. The NET Platform is available to view or download at https://nationaleconomictransition.org/

Members of ReImagine Appalachia, a coalition of policy organizations, grassroots groups, individuals and activists from West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, offer ideas at a March convening for building a 21rst century sustainable regional economy. That is followed by a July 21rst press conference announcing the ReImagine Appalachia policy blueprint and calling for large scale federal investment in the region. The blueprint outlines a vision for vibrant Appalachian communities where everyone is paid enough to support themselves and their family, future generations can put down roots, and everyone has clean air to breathe and water to drink.