Interview with Deborah King, April 18, 1994

Interview Summary

King describes her childhood in Paint Creek and the nearby coal mine. King did not think that black people were coal miners, but she realized later that her best friend's family, who she describes as clean, good people, were coal miners. King describes Livingston Elementary school as being an old, dark, damp school building where learning wasn't much fun. King describes a "brain drain" of ideas in the state of West Virginia, so that the state takes McDowell County's ideas and does not act on the ideas in the county. As a result, the McDowell County Action Network was formed. King describes friction between the County Commission and the McDowell County Action Network due to a personnel matter. King then goes on to describe her vision of creating one facility for families and individuals to come to access social services, to be housed in Stevens Clinic Hospital.

Interview Keyword

Kanawha County (W. Va.) Stevens Clinic Hospital McDowell County Action Network Mother Jones Economic Development Board

Interview LC Subject

War (W. Va.) Sanitation, Household Southern Baptist Convention Mine accidents Labor unions

Interview Rights

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.