In Kentucky’s coal country, a community is working to heal political divisions

Amna Nawaz:

For decades in Pike County, Kentucky, coal was more than an industry. It was a way of life, powering homes, paychecks and a deep sense of identity.

But as the economy shifts, residents are also grappling with growing political divisions within their community.

Judy Woodruff reports from Pike County in the latest installment of her series America at a Crossroads.

Judy Woodruff:

In the hills of Eastern Kentucky, fall colors streak across the Appalachian Mountains, a reminder of the area's beauty and resilience.

But over the past four decades, the population has fallen sharply, down by nearly a third, following the collapse of the region's main industry. Traces of the old coal economy are still visible in a region once hailed as America's energy capital.

Those who've left to find jobs elsewhere face a stigma.

James Browning, Liberal:

If you venture outside of here, as someone from Appalachia, immediately feel defense and shame, like I'm from a lesser part of the country. I'm from — I'm a dumb hillbilly, and that's what everybody thinks.

Judy Woodruff:

What do you say to them, people you know about this part of the country, about Pikeville?

Arlie Hochschild, Author, "Stolen Pride": I say come with me. Get to know people outside your bubble. It's not that hard.

Judy Woodruff:

Sociologist and author Arlie Hochschild has spent more than seven years getting to know the people here in Pike County, Kentucky, the state's largest and most eastern county.

Arlie Hochschild:

I often heard, oh, we kept the lights on. We won World War I. We won World War II. We provided the electricity and energy that helped build the weapons we needed to win that war. And now we're forgotten. That is the basic feeling here. Who knows where we're here? Who's going to help us?

Judy Woodruff:

A far right rally here in 2017 sparked her interest, which grew into her latest book, "Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right." It seeks to understand how a once overwhelmingly Democratic region became overwhelmingly Republican as the economy changed.

Arlie Hochschild:

What's happened, I think, the whole sector of American society has experienced this scary slide downward and has felt, wait a minute, the other sector is going up and we're going down. And they have turned to both parties, Democratic Party, Republican Party, haven't found answers.

Judy Woodruff:

I met up with some of the people Hochschild profiled, including Republican businessman Roger Ford. His family has lived here for generations.

Roger Ford, Conservative:

The national Democratic Party's policies are way off-center. The issues that they seem to want to focus on cater more to urban areas.

Judy Woodruff:

Many liberals like James Browning now feel outnumbered and silenced in a county that President Trump carried with 82 percent of the vote last November.

James Browning:

The reds are saying all the right things, I think. They're not in touch with reality, in my opinion, much less the working class.

Judy Woodruff:

The political divisions here, like in the rest of the country, are now more visible, according to Robert Musick, a religious studies instructor at the University of Pikeville.

Rev. Robert Musick, St. James Episcopal Church:

It's beginning to really start dividing some places that were traditionally neutral grounds.

Judy Woodruff:

Musick also pastors an Episcopalian church and preaches at other churches in the community.

Rev. Robert Musick:

People are just now kind of a little bit hesitant, or maybe they're not having the same type of dialogues that they used to have, because they're just so afraid of hitting a button that people are going to be too hot and bothered about.

Judy Woodruff:

After Hochschild's book was published, some of her subjects connected and wanted to meet in person.

Arlie Hochschild:

What we need to do is actively depolarize ourselves. It won't happen automatically. We need to build the bridges.

Judy Woodruff:

They named the get-together holler log, a nod to the valleys they call home, combined with a spirit of dialogue. It was held in the coal-run community center and firehouse, and Musick helped coordinate the all-day event.

Rev. Robert Musick:

What I hope we can do today is truly be honest without fear of judgment or fear of someone stepping out of the room.

Judy Woodruff:

After introductions, participants shared some of the thinking behind their views and spoke about the immediate struggles they faced.

James Browning:

It wasn't getting better with blue, and it's not getting better with red.

Judy Woodruff:

Tommy Ratliff describes himself as a liberal-leaning independent.

Tommy Ratliff, Independent:

Tax time comes around and you don't know. Well, I can pay my taxes early and get a discount and sacrifice some Christmas presents, you know? That's worth that. And the flood comes, things like that.

Judy Woodruff:

This area has been hit by increasingly frequent and severe weather events, including flooding earlier this year. And government regulations are slowing down local mitigation efforts, charges conservative Roger Ford.

Roger Ford:

They're creating the disaster by not letting us fix these Crooks and streams that are filled up.

Nathan Little, Conservative:

What's going to work here in Eastern Kentucky in the head of this holler or in this county is not going to work for — like up in the Northeast. It's not going to work. We have different viewpoints, different people.

Judy Woodruff:

As the day went on and participants got to know each other, they tackled more difficult subjects, including the impact of President Trump's spending bill past this summer.

James Browning:

Kids not being able to eat three meals a day, granny not being able to go to her dialysis.

Nathan Little:

I have a hard time coming to the fact that everyone's going to be kicked off and then everyone has to reapply and then get, like — work requirements is all that I have read that would affect Medicaid.

Judy Woodruff:

And in this county that's overwhelmingly white, the issue of race came up toward the end of the day.

James Browning:

If I drive 15 to 20 minutes in any direction outside of the city of Pikeville is when I begin to see Confederate Flags on flagpoles and in people's bedroom windows.

Roger Ford:

Do you think just because that Confederate Flags is there, do you think that makes them racist?

James Browning:

Yes.

Roger Ford:

Do you? OK. I don't — I don't necessarily subscribe to that.

Judy Woodruff:

But throughout the seven hour day, Trump was not a central topic.

Rev. Robert Musick:

We haven't mentioned President Trump very much. We haven't talked about him at all.

James Browning:

I think we have been talking about President Trump all day.

Roger Ford:

I think it's worn out. I think you have beat it to death.

Judy Woodruff:

As it came to a close, they celebrated with bluegrass music and dinner, and agreed it wouldn't be their last meeting.

Arlie Hochschild:

People really agree that actually a lot of these cuts to services that have happened will hurt this area. We have also agreed that getting some federal funds in to diversify this economy, get solar panels on those sawed-off…

(CROSSTALK)

Arlie Hochschild:

… that would be a good thing for this area. And we mainly agree we ought to get to know each other's cultures respectfully and stop stereotyping each other.

Judy Woodruff:

Is this the kind of thing that you think is easy to replicate in other places, or is it unique because of your book?

Arlie Hochschild:

I won't say easy to replicate, but, yes, it's completely replicable, but with a few rules about listening and about taking your alarm system off and really actively listening and looking for what you actually do agree on.

Judy Woodruff:

And, for some, there were surprises.

James Browning:

I expected when I started out yesterday morning these base values and things that people, all people, all humans are concerned with, and I had it in my head that was the only things I would find commonality with these guys. I was wrong?

Roger Ford:

I think, as long as you're talking, that beats the alternative. Solutions I think at this point are not found in the halls of Congress. I think the solutions are people outside of that coming together and saying, OK, how much are we really in disagreement with each other?

Judy Woodruff:

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Judy Woodruff in Pikeville, Kentucky.