Remembering our past serves our future
I’m Bobby, and I’ve been making monthly donations to the Mine Wars Museum for more than two years. And this year, after seeing first-hand the amazing work done by the group of individuals who founded and operate the museum on a dream and hard work, I’m going to double my monthly contribution.
Join me in making a monthly contribution in support of this work.
My commitment to the Museum and its mission grows out of both personal and professional gratitude. Professionally, as a Berea College professor of Appalachian Studies, the museum’s Mine Wars materials, resources, and lesson plans have helped me to add depth and breadth to my classes and to bring the Mine Wars content to life for my students.
And when I brought a Mine Wars class to Matewan three years ago, the museum’s displays and the staff’s storytelling and hospitality gave my students context and texture that I could not have done.
My students & I preparing a meal for the membership of UMWA Local 1440 prior to a Q&A Session organized by the Museum.
But more than that, the Museum touches every corner of my heart. It honors my coal-mining family and celebrates the sacrifices they made to bring a union to eastern Kentucky. It has preserved, shared, and celebrated a history too long concealed—a history of my people and my place told with integrity in the most respectful and honest way possible.
So, my donations pale alongside the amazing gift the museum has given me and my family and not only my grandchildren but their grandchildren and great grandchildren.
They won't be coal miners and they won't live in these hills, but they will forever find pride in those who came before them, of those who stood up against injustice, and of those who, in the process, brought a better day.
I believe knowing this history will give them the strength to live up to the legacy of their coal mining heritage and stand up against injustice and fight for what is right.
Please join me in making monthly contributions to the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum. The museum relies on these donations to keep the lights on, to pay salaries, and to grow its programming. And if you are already a donor, I hope you will consider increasing your contribution to help the museum expand its reach and services in 2022.
