Poverty Scholars Program Leadership School Study Materials
Poverty Scholars Program Leadership School
Charleston, West Virginia
August 9th -15th, 2009
Charleston, West Virginia
August 9th -15th, 2009
Materials to Study in Preparation for the Leadership School
1) With your organization/group and/or individually, please view the movie Matewan and discuss the questions below.
"Matewan" is a visual documentation of the Coal Wars in Appalachia and West Virginia made in 1987 during the Reagan-era assault on labor union organization.
Below are pivotal scenes from the film:
Discussion Questions
- Based on the movie and the reading(s), discuss the effects of the transition from agriculture to industry (and in particular working in the coal mines) – the factors of economic development.
- What is the basic strategy and tactics of the coal operators generally and how does that find tactical expression? What are the strategic considerations of the coal miners themselves?
- From the point of view of the coal operators and the coal miners: What was the role of race, ethnicity, and gender? What was the role of religion? What was the boy’s theology vs. the adult preacher’s theology? What was the role of art and culture (esp. at the funeral – the music, the sermon)?
- What are the survival tactics of the coal miners in their struggle? What was the role of violent vs. non-violent tactics used by both the coal miners and coal mine operators?
- What is the role of the law? What is “legal”? What is “illegal”? What was right and wrong?
- Given all of these questions and the overall video and reading, what would you say was the role of leadership development in this struggle?
2) Read and discuss "I See the Promised Land" by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King
A New and Unsettling Force: Reigniting Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign - the Poverty Initiative's newest original publication is 
