Of all the information I've come across in the past few years about West Virginia, what I discovered tonight actually moved me to take the action of starting a presentation of material that either inspires or enrages me. I'm writing a paper about labor history in West Virginia, because I think that the unique, radical history of labor activism in the state helps shape the efforts of activists fighting the processes of mountaintop removal and that it is absolutely necessary to have a deep knowledge of that history in order to truly comprehend mining today. History and historical process should influence anthropology and ethnography, because it is historical, economic, and political factors as much as the people who live there that make this region what it is. Appalachian anthropology often lacks this stress on history, which tends to lead to misinformed conclusions. But that's a different discussion, and for now I want to look more deeply into history.
Anyone who grew up in West Virginia probably remembers 8th grade West Virginia history and the Golden Horseshoe exam. Part of the reason I think it is so important to highlight labor history in the state is because the state educational system downplays it so much. Personally, I can't remember studying miners at all, and certainly not union resistance. I started doing some research about the Golden Horseshoe test and found that, in all the mini-quizzes I took, only one question was about the union: "What does UMWA stand for?" (United Mine Workers of America). While I don't want to ignore the fact that many test questions are about Native Americans in WV and uprisings that they led, I wonder why the laborers are neglected. I imagine - though I have no proof - that it has something to do with the fact that the coal companies are so deeply entwined in the political system of the state and can use K-12 education as a forum to push their agenda. To me, radical labor history is a seriously important part of West Virginia's identity, and it gets easily lost on a generation who will probably not end up working in the mines and whose parents are probably no longer union members.
I don't want to pretend that union organizing is the only significant kind of resistance the state has ever seen - indeed, activism now is rarely union organized, as the UMWA has stated its support of mountaintop removal in the name of providing jobs. But I think the fact that young people in West Virginia don't learn about labor history is hugely problematic. This means that we also never learned why some miners might want to fight against coal companies, so we could never really understand the exploitative conditions workers and their families lived under in the state's single-industry economy. We didn't learn about coal companies concentrating power in the hands of absentee mine owners and how the legal system established in at the end of the 19th century allowed coal barons to obtain native West Virginians' lands for coal production. Is this because we would all then get angry and begin to question the hegemony of the concentrated power of the two coal companies left in the state? Would we all reclaim Sid Hatfield and Mother Jones as our favorite historical figures and give up Chuck Yeager, Belle Boyd, and James Rumsey?
There is no reason anthropologists and other academics cannot take up these questions. I see the role of anthropology as one that is obliged to question the structures that uphold inequalities and to do something to change them, and in West Virginia those structures are built around coal companies and their histories. Twentieth-century mining history shaped the course of coal in the state as a whole, and the better we understand that basic fact, the richer our ideas of Appalachia and Appalachians have the potential to be.
some sources from this discussion:
Batteau, Allen. 1990 The Invention of Appalachia. Tuscon: University of Arizona Press.
Burns, Shirley Stewart. 2007 Bringing Down the Mountains: The Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginian Communities. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press.
Corbin, David Alan. 1981 Life, Work, and Rebellion in the Coal Fields: The Southern West Virginia Miners 1880-1922. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
http://www.wvculture.org/HISTORY/trivia/quizindex.aspx
http://www.wvculture.org/HISTORY/wvmemory/timeline.aspx
I fully support your courageous determination to go beyond the walls of academia and expose a particular labor experience which, as is the case in many other societies around the world, seems to have been systematically obscured in the writing of the country's history -thus precluding the potential possibilities for the oppressed to find sources for empowerment. A people without memory -or with a borrowed memory- cannot effectively be called a people.
ReplyDeleteIn this sense, I totally identify with and support your notion of what the role of anthropology should be: "one that is obliged to question the structures that uphold inequalities and to do something to change them". If we cannot change those structures, let us at least contribute to publicly reveal their logics and mechanisms, which you already started doing with this great initiative.
I'm so excited about this! What a great way for me to able to learn along with you and for you to get your thoughts and ideas out before you finish your PhD. Way to go, Em!
ReplyDeleteWell, I've finally had a chance to really read your blog (sorry for the delay). I find it very interesting in several ways. It never dawned on me that you didn't learn about WV's rich labor/union history - but in truth, I have to admit that I knew little about its details myself. Not being a native West Virginian, when I came here all I knew was the beauty of the state and the stereotypes of the people, the latter of which I refused to beleive. As time has passed, I've made an effort to learn more about WV's history, but it never occurred to me that none of that history was being taught in the schools. Your suggestion that at least some of the reason for this may be the coal companies' influence is very thought-provoking. I'm completely in agreement with you. Young students know how stubborn and proud West Virginians can be - stereotype or not, it's true - but why can't they learn about the beneficial things that that stubbornness and pride has led to through the years? Is it an intentional effort to keep kids from learning about how hard miners and other workers fought in years past to make life better for themselves and other West Virginians, and thereby contributing to the continued subjugation of native West Virginians by the big coal companies? Is it an intentional effort to keep kids (and adults) from learning the truth because that could lead to a negative "business environment" for coal companies? (& goodness knows our governmental leaders don't want to discourage them!) Let's be realistic, the coal companies OWN the state in more ways than we'd like to believe. And as long as they're able to prevent students from learning about the state's rich labor history, then they succeed in preventing children from growing up knowing how proud they should be of the state's past, and potentially acting on it. In this way, I believe that learning the complete and true history of the state is much more crucial than learning about the Hatfields and McCoys or whatever other bunk they teach you.
ReplyDeleteWhen you mention how the coal companies used to own the "company towns" and rule every aspect of the miners' lives - I'm not so sure that that isn't still the case. What about the suggestion that the coal companies intentionally keep other businesses and industries from coming into coal towns, so that Wal-Mart and McDonald's really ARE the only other available employment opportunities? As long as the coal companies continue to be able to make people believe they are the workers' best hope for a middle-class future, then the intimidation and subjugation of West Virginians will continue.
Finally (for now), I believe that it's important not only to learn and act on the history of the state for the defeat of MTR and all it entails, but also to guarantee the safety for everyone who chooses to work in the mining industry, including below-ground miners. MTR destoys many things, including the beauty of the state and the health of people living nearby, but coal mining is one of the most dangerous occupations there is. It's far too easy for the big coal companies to take advantage of workers of many different levels - figuratively and literally.
I'll stop ranting for today.
I'm really proud of you, Em - West Virginia needs you!