Six participants joined Faith and Money Network’s Trip of Perspective to Wise County, Va., in early August 2019. Organizations visited included Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, the Appalachian African-American Cultural Center, and the Southwest Virginia Black Lung Association.
Our Trip of Perspective group started the day with an early morning walk in Big Stone Gap, VA. Left to right: Denise Schlener, Jim Edmonds, Steven Stichter, Alex Hirtle, Okima Bryant, and Mark Ewert. 
View from the top of Black Mountain, where you can see the devastation of mountaintop removal strip mining. More than 500 mountains in Appalachia have been destroyed. 
SAMS director Taysha Devaughn introduces retired coal miner Bethel Brock. Mr. Brock, 77 years old, has black lung disease from decades working in the coal fields of Virginia. It took him 14 years to secure benefits. 
From the Coal Miners Museum in Big Stone Gap, this “Danger No Smoking,” sign in 16 languages proves the diversity in southwest Virginia in the early 1900s. 
This year our trip included visiting the African American Cultural Center in Lee County, Virginia. Ron and Jill Carson shared with us the work of the center and their commitment to preserving memories, racial justice, and the building of community. 
We visited and learned about life in a coal camp with Matt Helper and Jane Branham. 
The Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (SAMS) is an organization of concerned citizens working to build just and equitable communities while addressing current and legacy costs of extraction in this region. 
Touring the mountains in southwest Virginia with our gracious hosts, the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards.