Google “environmental justice in Appalachia” and nearly every returned link will exclusively describe the impact of coal extraction on the region. It’s no surprise, then, that here in Pulaski, VA, many of us only feel peripherally connected to that conversation. Although we have had a few coal mining operations in this County historically, most of […]
Hiding in the Opioid Numbers
If there is one thing that Americans can agree on at this moment in our history, it’s that we have an opioid problem. An epidemic that touches every state and county. In fact, we all likely know someone who has become addicted to oxycodone, morphine, fentanyl, or any of the other countless prescription painkillers that […]
Finding Truth in Noah Thomas’s Death
I have spent the majority of my adult life working on, consulting with, and learning about truth and reconciliation commissions. These bodies are generally tasked with investigating human rights abuses or other injustices so that a community or nation can learn from the past, establish accountability for what happened in some way, and make recommendations […]
Leaving Coal Country
It’s been nearly 9 years since I took my first trip as an adult to Appalachia. My now-wife, then girlfriend, had a summer internship at a little church in the region. So one weekend I left the cornfields of Indiana in my Honda, bound southeast. I had plenty of visions in mind of where I […]