Special Project: Oral histories from eastern KY and southwest VA

During Fall of 2020, producer Nicole Musgrave interviewed residents of Letcher County, Kentucky and Wise County, Virginia about the physical, economic and emotional challenges of 2020. People discuss the effects of the pandemic on their personal relationships, work lives, and school studies. Parents and teachers talk about navigating the new normal of virtual classrooms, and the  Chief Nursing Officer for Appalachian Regional Healthcare offers a glimpse into the special burdens placed on health care workers in the past year. In addition to Covid, several interviewees talk about the anger and distress they experienced after the death of George Floyd and how they came to organize Black Lives Matter protests in their respective communities.

These oral histories are part of Appalshop's Creating in Place initiative to document and collect stories and creative expressions in its community during 2020.