Sunday, September 25, 2005

On Katrina and poverty awareness

This AP story says in part:

"In Appalachia, a region where poverty is so entrenched, so intractable and so pervasive it is almost a cliche, many residents still live in century-old coal camp box houses, built to be temporary out of flimsy boards and battens.
The poverty in this region has been 'discovered' again and again, and promises to pull residents out of poverty have been made for more than a century. During the Civil War, when thousands of Appalachians were driven from their homes in the mountains, President Lincoln promised he would come to their aid.
'The folks we work with don't really see they have a future, and as a consequence they live day by day,' said John David, who directs the Southern Appalachia Labor School in Kincaid, W.Va.
Some Appalachian residents have continuous yard sales, their only hope of making money lies in selling one of their possessions. Many more spend the entire year paying off their winter heating bills, which top $500 a month because their homes lack insulation."

I never heard of the Southern Appalachian Labor School.

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