State Of Despair!

Well West Virginia, how is your day?

The U.S. state of West Virginia. The state that overwhelmingly voted for President Donald J. Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024. This state is considered extremely dangerous for Black motorists.

Its two Republicans senators and the two House Republican members are very rich. The former independent (elected as a Democrat) is rich. Senator Jim Justice is worth $700 million. Senator Shelley Moore Capito is worth $3.45 million. House member Carol Miller is worth $29.3 million. U.S. House member Riley Moore is worth approximately $358,000.

Former senator Joe Manchin is worth $16 million.

Tell me, how is the most poorest state in the United States willing to allow millionaires represent them in the Congress?

The residents who live outside of Morgantown, Beckley, Huntington, Weirton, Wheeling, Martinsburg, Parkersburg and state capital Charleston are definitely suffering.

Every county including the largest populated county Kanawha all went to Trump. The state gave over 78% of national support to the president.

Coal mining was a big business in West Virginia. Many of the residents were generational miners or lumberjacks. The shift into clean energy was supposed to be in West Virginia but some were keen to that. 

That Black guy running the country back then was not talking the talk. Barack Obama's historic run for president was a catalyst for how West Virginia went from once a strong Democratic state to a Republican stronghold. 

Appalachia voted for their own demise.

Republicans capitalized on culture wars, fake populism and racial politics.

Trump continues to promise he will bring coal jobs back but ten years later, they still waiting for that coal mining boom.

For over a century, the state's economy was heavily reliant on a single dominant industry: coal mining. While this brought periods of economic boom, it also created a "resource curse" dynamic, where wealth generated from the state’s natural resources was largely exported by out-of-state corporations, leaving the local infrastructure vulnerable when the industry entered a structural decline due to automation, market forces, and the shift toward cleaner energy sources.

The daily financial struggle for many West Virginia families is severe. According to recent data from United Way initiatives, roughly 45% of West Virginia households are facing financial hardship. This includes families living below the federal poverty line, as well as the "ALICE" population (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed)—individuals who work full-time but do not earn enough to cover basic survival expenses like housing, childcare, and food.