Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 8.02 Natural Resources
Presentation #1 Title
“Coal Keeps the Lights On”: The Culture of Coal in Eastern Kentucky
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Through interviews with three eastern Kentucky coal miners and their families, this paper explores the cultural significance of coal mining in eastern Kentucky and the labor tradition of coal mining as passed from father to son, alongside a rejection of environmental policies enforced from the federal government which have impacted coal mining in the region. While coal mining is vilified as an environmental hazard for workers and a pollutant of the environment, in his popular song, “Coal Keeps the Lights On,” Jimmy Rose speaks to the cultural significance of coal mining in eastern Kentucky when he sings, “If I get the chance to stand one day,/And name the things to me that I’m most proud of,/Well, I hope one day I can say, that coal kept the lights on.” In refraining “coal kept the lights on” throughout the song, Rose speaks to more than the economics of the region, but pride these coal miners, their sons, and families reveal for the labor tradition of coal mining and the culture it sustains in the region. As the coal miners and their families reveal, coal mining is not just an industry, it is a way of life that shapes the region’s culture.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Brenda Hardin Abbott hails from Breathitt County, Kentucky. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in education, in the area of language, literacy and culture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research interests are rural and Appalachian literacies.
“Coal Keeps the Lights On”: The Culture of Coal in Eastern Kentucky
Corbly Hall 244
Through interviews with three eastern Kentucky coal miners and their families, this paper explores the cultural significance of coal mining in eastern Kentucky and the labor tradition of coal mining as passed from father to son, alongside a rejection of environmental policies enforced from the federal government which have impacted coal mining in the region. While coal mining is vilified as an environmental hazard for workers and a pollutant of the environment, in his popular song, “Coal Keeps the Lights On,” Jimmy Rose speaks to the cultural significance of coal mining in eastern Kentucky when he sings, “If I get the chance to stand one day,/And name the things to me that I’m most proud of,/Well, I hope one day I can say, that coal kept the lights on.” In refraining “coal kept the lights on” throughout the song, Rose speaks to more than the economics of the region, but pride these coal miners, their sons, and families reveal for the labor tradition of coal mining and the culture it sustains in the region. As the coal miners and their families reveal, coal mining is not just an industry, it is a way of life that shapes the region’s culture.
