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I have been asked many times, "Why do you live in a place that is so backward and rural as Harlan County, Kentucky?" The only honest answer is: This is home! While it may not be the ideal place for gays and lesbians to live, a lot of gays and lesbians do, in fact, live in rural Appalachia. With sexual orientation side, mountain culture and heritage are very important. Why? Well, when you talk about Appalachian people you're talking about people who are found in/of over nine states, including western Maryland, east Tennessee, the northwest corner of South Carolina, northern Georgia, and east Kentucky. There is a distinct culture and heritage seldom told, especially in the "gay press." Appalachian people are the descendants of Celtic people, the Irish, Scottish, and Welsh who had been rebelling against the English government. Our ancestors brought a fierce longing for independence and social justice with them in these mountains.

Folks call us "hillbillies," and we're supposed to be ashamed of that. They don't seem to remember that one reason West Virginia became a state is because the "hillbillies" rejected the idea of slavery.

Some folks might say that the "mountain folk" and their way of life has a mystical or romantic appeal to it. I don't know about that. But let me tell you a story of why I am here, and why I write.

My grandpa and daddy were old time coal miners who worked in a black wet hell, with only a little carbide light to hold back their fright. It's a story that no other man can tell. No one knows the way they felt, crawling underground like a sewer rat or mole, with the huge mountain groaning above their heads, as they dug for the filthy black coal. They gave their lives in their own kind of war.

They were always damp or soaked to the bone. At the same time, the air was so full of dust that it would cut their eyes and clog their lungs. Many times they'd go for weeks without seeing a ray of sunlight. You can see the dents, the scratches, and marks on these little carbide lights. But you can't begin to gauge the scars on a coal miner's soul, gouged there by raw hurt and pure fright. I remember the cool dark nights, still black from all the dust, and dead tired, that daddy stretched out on the kitchen floor. I remember the paydays when there wasn't a dime, it all went to the Company Store.

And then I remember those final years so long ago. The smothering and misery, the pain, and the racking cough. It's a life and death that no man deserves, yet it measures the rich man's greed and evil gain.

A little carbide light is my reminder that the human race is unkind in the struggle for money and power. Vast fortunes were built on the backs of the brave men who dug the coal. That little light should remind us all that no one has the right to make another person feel less than human, or to grovel and tremble with fright. It symbolizes a lot. It means we can hold our heads up and be proud and free. A coal miner's carbide light means we are duty bound, and we must do our best to preserve equality, pride, and dignity. It is our heritage! So, friends, if you ever lose sight of what is right, all you need to do is remember the coal miner's carbide light.

Learn more about this author, George Stewart.
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