NexGen Patriots
The NexGen Patriots exists to inspire, inform, and empower every generation of Americans by connecting faith, values, and community with the issues that shape everyday life. Through meaningful conversations and real stories, the podcast provides a platform where local voices meet national discussions—bridging the gap between small-town perspectives and broader cultural and civic topics. We highlight the strength and resilience of communities while promoting informed citizenship rooted in integrity, responsibility, and hope for the future.
-Empowering every generation-
NexGen Patriots
“Built Around Coal”
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In the coal towns of southern West Virginia, everything revolved around the mines. According to this firsthand perspective, companies like U.S. Steel focused on keeping coal moving — and that meant people from all backgrounds worked side by side. Black families, white families, Mexicans, Italians, and others all played a role in building communities like Gary and the surrounding areas of McDowell County. This conversation reflects on the jobs, visibility, and strong sense of community that existed in towns built around coal.
"Empowering Every Gen"
So how did segregation then um kind of moving more into your your future of your life affect job opportunities specifically like in the coal mining and local industries here?
SPEAKER_01Well the coal mining it didn't affect at all. And and the black men worked just like the white men do did. They worked in these jobs, they worked in the tipple, they worked uh they were, you know, they worked uh uh with safety and uh and all of that. They were involved in all of that that with U.S. Steel. There again, they U.S. Steel had a plan in place. Their plan was to get that coal produced, and this is what they had available to them. They had black men, white men, Mexicans, Italians, everybody. So everybody worked.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Our fathers worked.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. They worked. What was it like in the other local industries like grocery stores or the bank or there again?
SPEAKER_01Everything in our area here was built around the coal industry. The coal industry here was to produce coal. These coal producers saw to it that black folk had available to them everything that made them happy so they'd stay here. Yeah. Because they knew they understood that if you here, and I don't care what color you were, if you weren't able to do something to care for your family, you weren't staying. So they needed us to stay.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Our fathers to stay. So they did what was necessary to keep us here. And that meant that the stores, they they hired black folk. They didn't do it in an abundance, but they did it. They at the the company store. Our driver was a black guy. He took, he he delivered all of our um our groceries, you know. So we saw our own people working in all of the industries here. We were um the the job opportunities were okay with us here.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01We had a good political base.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01We were involved deeply with politics. Our fathers and mothers were involved with that. Our organizations were strong. And uh so we kept all of that going here in McDowell County.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01McDowell County for us, we probably had more black folk in the McDowell County than we did anywhere in the state of West Virginia. Wow. So we were we were visible. We were visible, we were focused, and we were involved in everything that went on in here.