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Articles by Emily Comer
Read These Stories Instead of Watching Hillbilly Elegy
Eleven stories of community, exploitation, and resilience in Appalachia Today, Hillbilly Elegy, the film adaptation of J.D. Vance’s 2016 book of the same name, arrives on Netflix. The critical consensus is that it’s not worth your time.
West Virginia Isn’t Just “Trump Country”
West Virginia is a state that embodies the tensions and possibilities inherent in the recent antiestablishment turn in American politics: it is a state that voted 68 percent for Donald Trump in 2016, and it is the state that kicked off a national wave of rank-and-file labor militancy in 2018. And now West Virginia has a candidate for governor in 2020 running an ambitious antiestablishment campaign.
The Myths and Realities of the Education Strike Wave
Review of Red State Revolt, by Eric Blanc (Verso, 2019). There has been a tendency to mythologize West Virginia’s nine-day education strike. By many popular accounts, my coworkers and I appeared to cohere ourselves out of thin air (or a Facebook group) as a fifty-five-strong, ready-to-strike mob. To be sure, our win was monumental and even shocking to many.
Donate This Week, Get a Free Book
Small Out April 30 from Basic Books, in The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality, Jacobin’s founder Bhaskar Sunkara explores socialism’s history since the mid-1800s and presents a realistic vision for its future, and why the socialist tradition still matters today.
West Virginia Is Set to Strike Again
West Virginia is on the eve of its second teachers’ walkout in less than a year. Only ten months after the state’s educators sparked what has now become a nationwide teachers’ revolt, a brazen attempt by Republican legislators to ram through a pro-privatization, anti-union bill has again set school workers on fire. Political developments are moving extremely quickly — it’s as if the months leading up to the 2018 strike have been compressed into a few short days.
West Virginia Teachers Look to Strike Again
West Virginia is on the eve of its second teachers’ walkout in less than a year. Only ten months after the state’s educators sparked what has now become a nationwide teachers’ revolt, a brazen attempt by Republican legislators to ram through a pro-privatization, anti-union bill has again set school workers on fire. Political developments are moving extremely quickly — it’s as if the months leading up to the 2018 strike have been compressed into a few short days.
Beyond ‘Trump Country’: An Excerpt from 55 Strong, Inside the West Virginia Teachers’ Strike
This piece was originally published in Scalawag, which amplifies the voices of activists, artists, and writers reckoning with the South. You can read the original here. Follow the Greenbrier River down from its headwaters at the north end of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, where the East and West Forks merge at Durbin. Meander with it south, past Hosterman, Cass, Stony Bottom, and Clover Lick. This is the longest unblocked river east of the Mississippi.
Beyond "Trump Country"
The national media is obsessed with the idea of West Virginia as “Trump Country.” In countless interviews during and after the West Virginia teachers’ strike this past year, I was asked the question, “How could this have happened in a state that voted for Trump?” I was initially puzzled at the question; my state has a rich, militant labor history—I followed in the footsteps of my grandfather and great-grandfather by taking part in the strike. Surely reporters had done their research?
20 Bible Verses Everyone Should Remember
The world we live in is becoming increasingly cynical. We are all so caught up and consumed by the negatives in our lives, that we forget about the positives. We are too busy blaming others for the things that go wrong, that we forget to thank God for the things he does for us. In such trying times, it is important for us to look to God for answers and trust in him to show us the way. In order to do that, here are some verses that everyone should remember.
What the Teachers Won
Interview by Eric Blanc On Tuesday afternoon, a deal to give all public employees in the state of West Virginia a 5 percent pay raise was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor. A struggle that mobilized tens of thousands of workers, won widespread popular support, and was led by rank-and-file leaders, ended in a tangible victory. Confusion arose, however, as reports indicated that Republican state politicians wanted to offset the increase with cuts to social services.
What the Teachers Won
On Tuesday afternoon, a deal to give all public employees in the state of West Virginia a 5 percent pay raise was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor. A struggle that mobilized tens of thousands of workers, won widespread popular support, and was led by rank-and-file leaders, ended in a tangible victory. Confusion arose, however, as reports indicated that Republican state politicians wanted to offset the increase with cuts to social services.
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