Memoir Depicts Thriving Black Community In Harlan County, KY. And Investigation Explores Flaws In W.Va.'s Foster Care System

The downturn of coal in Harlan County, Kentucky has led to an exodus of Black residents in search of work. This week on Inside Appalachia, we speak with William Turner, whose new book looks at growing up in a vibrant Black community during Harlan’s boom years. 

“We’re so accustomed in Appalachia’s coal camps to booms and busts,” Turner told co-host Mason Adams. “And while it may never come back with a capital B, I think people will survive, and more than that, I think they will thrive.” Turner’s new book is called “The Harlan Renaissance: Stories of Black Life in Appalachian Coal Towns.”

And a new investigation by Mountain State Spotlight and GroundTruth finds that West Virginia’s foster care system sends kids to often abusive, out-of-state facilities. The state’s Department of Health and Human Resources has identified some of these facilities to have issues with sexual assault, forced labor and more. We talk with reporters Amelia Ferrell Knisely and Molly Born about what they learned during their yearlong investigation.