Appalshop, Abuse, and Reckoning: Community Responses
Author’s note: The following quotes are selected public and private responses to the August 4, 2021 essay “Who Will Hold Appalshop Accountable?”
As of today, that article has garnered 5.4k hits on Medium—a large majority of the referrals private, via email or DM, as opposed to shared publicly. This suggests not just a lively interest in worker’s rights, sexual abuse, and #MeToo disclosures, but also a corollary silence around those same issues—a silence that did not exist when, say, white male Trump supporters in Harlan County asserted their right to paychecks from Blackjewel, LLC and were publicly valorized within the region. Whatever the reason, it’s hard not to speculate how different our social and economic outlook would be today if whistleblowing allegations of rape, degradation, and discriminatory practices against Appalachian women were addressed so strongly. At the very least, Kentucky might not have led the nation in men murdering women with guns in recent years, and rural women might not statistically work longer hours for less pay.
Still, there has been a lively response to the article. Many past employees posted about their painful experiences at Appalshop, and several—some of whom were there during my years on staff, others decades my senior—contacted me privately to share how overwhelmed they’d become in reading. “I read your article just now, and wish that I had been capable of writing it 20 years ago,” one past partner wrote. “…Your article brought me to tears. I had honestly believed in Appalshop and Roadside’s mission statements.” Some spoke of their fears that speaking up would cost them friendships or hurt their credibility. Another simply said: “It was harder to read than I expected. Lots to process. It took me a year of therapy to mentally transcend Appalshop.”
These responses deserve to be heard and remembered as much as the original whistleblower’s statement— as much as my August article. So I offer these selected quotes as testimonials to how focused and forceful authentic Appalachian voices for justice can be, when they are not weakened by corporate weasel words and boilerplate administrative denials.
To the survivors who saw this project through its inception, development, and publishing: I am so grateful and proud to know you.
To the workers who have spoken up: stay strong. Keep pushing for accountability. And remember that a Boss is a Boss is a Boss, whether they’re extracting coal or stories for profit. —AB, Sept. 2021
Responses to “Who Will Hold Appalshop Accountable?”
“You may not want to hear it, but all of this is true. I’ve kept quiet about my time at Appalshop, but this article sums it up.” — Matthew Carter, former Appalshop board member
“I think it is absolutely crucial that these allegations be taken seriously…. I stand with Amy in bringing her experiences to light and calling on Appalshop and Roadside Theater to be accountable to a national community of cultural workers. …[I] urge you to sign the petition calling for an investigation and transparency.” — Nicole Garneau, author, Performing Revolutionary: Art, Action, Activism
Above: Current Appalshop employee’s response to request for progress update. Below: Current Appalshop employee’s response to author making above screenshot public.
“Who Will Hold Appalshop Accountable?… describes a series of incidents of sexual harassment and other behaviors by a number of Appalshop employees contributing to an unsafe and unhappy work environment. I am a former Appalshop employee and board member who learned a great deal at Appalshop and have many fond memories of my time there. Appalshop has done much good and important work.… My sympathy is with all those harmed. My hope is that Appalshop will do everything in its power to right the wrongs done by individual employees and the organization in the past, and transparently and forthrightly address future mistakes and wrongdoing.… This is about all of us working towards a world that is a less patriarchal, less misogynist, less sexist, less homophobic, less racist, more feminist, and more genuinely equal and caring for everyone — a world where we reckoned with our past so that we might have a genuinely better future.” — Robert Gipe, founder, Higher Ground in Harlan and author, Trampoline
“Amy Brooks did Appalshop and all who love it a huge service, by calling the organization out on its lack of transparency and toxicity in the workplace. All who appreciate the good work Appalshop has done have a responsibility to hold them accountable, to support them in making changes in the workplace climate. It doesn’t have to be that way.” — Madeline Flannery
“I write this today as a 2015 graduate of Appalshop’s Appalachian Media Institute, a former WMMT DJ, a current WMMT Community Advisory Board member, a young punk that went to shows in the Boone building long before I knew it was connected to Appalshop, and a near-lifelong community member of Whitesburg, KY. I also write this as a survivor of sexual assault, something I’ve not discussed privately until earlier this year, and something I’ve not disclosed in any significant public capacity until now. It feels important to disclose this now, given the nature of this situation.
I want to first recognize that AMI quite literally changed the trajectory of my life, being a formative part of my decision six years ago to stay in the region. It was through Appalshop staffers, partners, and volunteers that I first learned about community and economic development (and then community organizing later on). I count many past and present Appalshoppers as friends and loved ones. I even adapted Junebug Production and Roadside Theater’s story circle format as an interview methodology for my master’s thesis. The impact this organization has had on me personally, professionally, and academically is undeniable. For all of this and more I will always be grateful.
That said, the actions detailed in Amy’s Medium article… are unacceptable, even less so for an organization that strives to amplify Appalachian voices and champion social justice.
In Appalshop’s response to the article, they say they dispute some of what Amy shares. Regardless of what is disputed and what is not, there have been whispers of this and other abuses (and at the hands of more than one Appalshop employee) in our community since at least December 2018, if not before, and I know that Amy and her words represent only one voice among many who call themselves survivors of abuse that took place at this organization. I write this today in solidarity with all of those survivors, past and present, with the hope that I will one day hear the full and total truth of what has happened at Appalshop over the course of the past several years. I write this with the hope that I will see genuine transparency, accountability, and any and all possible reparations of harm from Appalshop, now and in the future, realized through direct and meaningful collaboration with survivors and resolved in a way that feels satisfactory to those survivors. I am sure there are many Appalshop staffers who will want the same.
I don’t write this with a punitive or slanderous heart; I write this with a broken one, one that hurts for all who have suffered harm, regardless of how or why or by whom they have experienced harm. I ask for the truth as someone who constantly has to question their safety and the motives of others because of the deep harm I have experienced in this lifetime, sexually and otherwise. I ask this as someone who wants to believe they can be safe at Appalshop and with anyone associated with Appalshop, but also as someone who HAS to know the answer to that outright, as I no longer have the privilege of trusting without knowing for sure. I ask this as someone who wants to believe that Appalshop will amplify the voices of Appalachian survivors of sexual assault and survivors of all other forms of interpersonal and systemic harm, in addition to prioritizing their well-being, not silencing or discrediting them, even if they or their associates are named as culprit. I look forward to seeing what Appalshop does next with regard to these issues. I thank Amy for her bravery in standing up, telling her story, and fighting for those who cannot.” — Brandon Sun Eagle Jent
“[W]e all know the [Appalshop] board has been grappling [with] this kind of issue for far longer than three years, or even 10 years. Unfortunately it seems like things haven’t changed much despite these considerable amounts of deep internal reflection. It is reassuring for Appalshop to recognize in the written statement that the organization has a lot of work to do. How would Appalshop like it’s communities and stakeholders (such as former staff and leaders of peer and partner organizations) to help and to hold Appalshop accountable? I feel like this is missing from the Appalshop response, and I suspect a fair number of people who have also witnessed bullying or other abusive behavior at Appalshop in the past would also like to know.… I hate to say that the workplace culture at Appalshop in the 2000s and early 2010s was not one that we were proud of. Even back then there was regular discussion of dealing with the demoralizing institutional culture. Most of what Amy wrote about I either experienced myself, or saw happening to other people. Amy and I didn’t work there at the same time, but I find her Medium peace credible from my own experiences.” — Mark W. Kidd
Responses to We’ll Hold Appalshop Accountable: A Community Petition:
“I’m saddened to know that an organization I credit in my work exists in my world on the backs of women and Black/POC artists and organizations it has willfully erased from view. I’m hopeful this petition will result in Roadside’s new leadership, and Appalshop more broadly, following through on the accountability steps put forward. Indeed, violent workplace culture does not automatically disappear when leaders leave, especially leaders that remain the “face” of an initiative and are actively playing a role in maintaining their legacy.” — C Surmanek
“I’m signing because I love Appalshop. I’m signing because I know Appalshop has done harm. And I’m signing because I know Appalshop cares about accountability and community. I believe Amy.” — e.m.i., Corbin
“I’m signing because I love Appalshop and when you love a person, a place, or an organization, you do whatever is necessary to help heal hurts.” — Jenny Williams
“During the time I served as a staff and board member of Appalshop I both experienced and witnessed many instances of workplace abuse. Some of those abuses were met with institutional indifference and some with outright resistance to accountability. I hope that this is the start of a process that brings true and lasting changes to an organization that can and should stand for justice in the mountains.” — Amelia Kirby, Director, “Calls From Home: Prison Radio in Appalachia” and Producer, “Holler to the Hood”
“I stand with a friend who experienced awful mismanagement and harm by appalshop leadership. I’ve never witnessed anything else like it and from my vantage point, nothing has changed between the years Amy describes & today (despite the latest influx of new staff). Those are some deeply entrenched patterns of harm. Where do they even start?” — AWJ
“accountability is important.” — Louisa Sargent
“I have loved this story and herd this story to many time to keep moving on. It’s time for this type of abuse to be acknowledged.” — Liv Taylor
“I, too, have been a victim of workplace harassment and bullying. I support those who are brave enough to take a public stand.” — Jennifer McDaniels
“I’m signing because folks should be able to trust that their community will be a safe place to learn, work, and grow. Let’s make that happen.” — Stacie Sexton
“In solidarity with Amy Brooks and other former employees speaking up about a culture of abuse.” — Dr. Jessie Wilkerson, author, “To Live Here You Have to Fight: How Women Led Appalachian Movements for Social Justice”
“I’m signing because I believe Amy Brooks and am grateful for her courage.” — Stephen Clapp
“I love Appalshop and the folks who make it thrive. I am deeply indebted to this organization for the knowledge, support, and friendship they have offered to me and my work. I believe Amy and those referenced in the piece. I hope their bravery will be rewarded with policy and culture shifts that help this important organization nourish the lives of those who serve the mission, and I believe the leadership at Appalshop will do their best to make that so.” — Savannah Barrett, co-director, Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange and Art of the Rural
“I have loved Appalshop from the time it was conceived, and continue to now. I am proud of those who have been harmed and have chosen the risky step of standing up and speaking out. I am heartened by the statements above, and I will be gratified to see these promises implemented, and this organization will come to embody the change they want to see in the world in all respects.” — Rhonda Lundy
“I was a victim of gaslighting/workplace embarrassment during my time in radio, which also included my time at WMMT. It’s time that we end workplace harassment, embarrassment, and gaslighting not only in the radio business, but as a whole. I love Appalshop and hope things change for the betterment of every employee. I stand by Amy Brooks and can relate to the problems and uncomfortable situations she went through.” — Jonathan Colwell
“I met Amy Brooks at [a] session of the Hurricane Gap Institute and believe her to be a truth-teller. Appalshop is an organization to be valued but not at the expense of allowing or excusing worker abuse.” — David Sykes
Amy Brooks is a 5th-generation West Virginian with a B.F.A. in theater from West Virginia University and an M.F.A. in dramaturgy from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is a co-founder and Lead Artist of Cardinal Cross Arts Co., a member of Alternate ROOTS, and an Intercultural Leadership Institute 2018–2019 Fellow.
