 June 6, 1998 They discovered coal in McDowell County around the turn of the centu!
ry . At its peak in the 1950's, over 100,000 people worked here, extracting billions of dollars of the world's finest coal. Coal of such high quality that McDowell coal has been used to produce the finest steel in the country. Today, all those jobs are gone. But the coal hasn't stopped flowing. In fact, coal production is at an all-time high, while employment is at an all time low. High-tech production has left this community with unemployment rates in excess of 90%. McDowell County has the fifth highest poverty rate in the country and 60% of its children live in poverty. As the jobs disappeared, so have the people. Today, less than 30,000 people live here. Seven out of ten people have been forced to leave. Some, like Frances Patton-Rutherford, have families that have lived on this land for three cen!
turies, and aren't prepared to leave. At our rally at Bradshaw City Hall she said: "I have lived my life in loss. We've lost families. We've lost jobs. We've lost schools. We've lost our water system. This is our home. This is where we want to live. We don't want to go to North Carolina to work part time for Burger King, which someone in my family did last week. Many don't have the resources to leave. We are trying to get together and figure out a future here. "In a country as wealthy as ours, it is unabidable this growing divergence between rich and poor, between children who can see a doctor when they are sick, between children who can live in a safe house, between chil!
dren who can get a quality education. We can do better. I'm not willing to give up on my community or my country." Frances is a board member of the Big Creek People in Action and coordinator of the McDowell Family Resource Center. Cheri Honkala, Freedom Rider and director of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union addressed the rally: "We are here today in McDowell County to be with the good people of West Virginia. We bring you greetings from poor and homeless people across the nation. We are here today not to speak on behalf of the poor- because !
we are the poor. What has happened to us that we won't even ask for food stamps? My mom didn't want to ask for food stamps, she felt ashamed, afraid that she had somehow failed. I want you all to repeat after me: "I'm poor and I count! "I'm poor and I count! "I'm poor and I count!" "We are the ones today, right now, that don't know how we're going to make it through these next six months- let alone this next year. We are here to hear from all of you here in West Virginia- to take your very important struggles for survival to the U!
nited Nations- not to beg for a future, but to demand a future for all of us. "Today marks a historic beginning in which we poor folks from the North begin to hook up with poor folks from the South to let nothing divide us. To work together to create a new society free from hunger and poverty. As there is a piece of steel from McDowell County in all parts of the country, we will take the steel foundation of the leaders in McDowell county and use it to inspire all poor people throughout the nation to stand up and be heard, to speak for ourselves and to no longer be silent. These are our families- our voices are needed. "For years both the Republican and Democratic parties have been telli!
ng us one thing before election day and another the day after they are elected. They tell us to get off the dole- yet they don't create the jobs we need and that's why we are promoting the Labor Party's Right to a Job at a Living Wage Campaign. We are calling for a 28th Amendment to the Constitution saying if you want us to work, give us a job that pays a living wage. "From every holler to every housing project, we will inspire our sisters and brothers to leave their homes and join the fight. "Together we must stand. "Together we build courage. &qu!
ot;Together we will win." Several people from McDowell County were joined by Freedom Riders in giving testimonials to economic human rights violations they are currently enduring. Rick Wilson of the American Friends Service Committee spoke first about the long history of struggle and resistance to oppression by the people of West Virginia. He went on to explain the specifics of welfare reform in West Virginia. West Virginia is one of only five states which elected to count Supplemental Security Income (SSI) as family income. This decision, which affects at least 20,000 low income West Virginians, was made by administrators at DHHR, and not by democratically elected officials. As a result of this policy, any family in which a mem!
ber receives SSI payments for a disability is effectively denied state cash assistance. Wilson gave some examples. A family of nine lost state cash assistance due to SSI. They were forced to give up their home and move in with relatives. A father of five who is disabled and is the primary caregiver lost state cash assistance when welfare reform went into effect. The family's furniture was subsequently repossessed by a rent to own company. One family began receiving SSI when the father became paralyzed in an accident. Through AFDC and SSI, they were able to survive and buy a mobile home. Welfare reform went into effect and they now face the prospect of losing their home.  The rall!
y closed with an unexpected surprise: some of the children on the Freedom Bus wrote and performed a song together. Here are the lyrics:
"We are going on the bus / We are marching for our lives / We are going on a bus / For Freedom We want you to listen / We want you to hear / Our stories are important / To live without fear We need our rights / For we are human / We need our rights / For we are children / We need our rights!" The Freedom Bus is on its way to Durham, North Carolina. [Next] [Previous] | 