Modes of Power in the Coal Fields

In this study of a coal-producing valley in central Appalachia, John Gaventa recounts one of his earliest experiences in the region—a conversation with a retired miner living in one of the valley’s innumerable hollers. Accompanied by a local community organizer, Gaventa had climbed the narrow path to the miner’s cabin to seek his support for a citizens’ lawsuit challenging the low taxation of surrounding coal property. As Gaventa and the organizer described the local injustices they had “discovered,” they registered the miner’s reaction. To their disappointment, he showed no surprise, no outrage, only resigned acceptance. How, confronted by glaring inequities and exploited openly by a dominating coal...