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John W Peace II

Big Stone Gap, VA

John W. Peace II is a Southwest Virginia author, syndicated feature writer, and fifth-generation farmer. A two-time Amazon bestselling author, he writes about Appalachia, rural culture, and working-class communities. https://linktr.ee/JohnWPeace

Blessings of Being a First-Gen American

Blessings of Being a First-Gen American

By Darryl Campbell, Candidate for Blacksburg Town Council I didn’t grow up thinking I’d run for public office. I grew up thinking I was supposed to help. That when someone needed something, I should show up. Whether it was a friend, a neighbor, or an entire community, I

When the Factories Went Quiet: NAFTA and the Day Rural America Felt Left Behind

When the Factories Went Quiet: NAFTA and the Day Rural America Felt Left Behind

When the Factories Went Quiet: NAFTA and the Day Rural America Felt Left Behind

When the Cows Left, the Party Did Too

When the Cows Left, the Party Did Too

There was a time when if you saw a Vote for a Democratic Candidate sign stuck on a fence post, odds were good there was a milk barn somewhere down that dirt road.

From Jim Crow to “Right to Work”: Virginia’s Long War Against Organized Labor

From Jim Crow to “Right to Work”: Virginia’s Long War Against Organized Labor

You hear the phrase “right to work” in Virginia politics and it sounds harmless enough. Almost patriotic. Like something Norman Rockwell might’ve painted on the side of a feed store in 1952. Down South, though, politics has always had a talent for dressing hard truths up in pretty language.

“Work Hard, Be Smart, Love Everybody”

“Work Hard, Be Smart, Love Everybody”

Every day before her daughters left for school, Shannon Love would tell them the same three things. “Work hard. Be smart. Love everybody.” It started as a family saying, but over the years it became the way Shannon tried to live her life. Now it has become the heart of

Why Big Tech Is Coming to Rural America

Data Centers: The New Gold Rush

The International Energy Agency estimates electricity demand from data centers could more than double by 2030, driven largely by artificial intelligence.

Hillbilly and the People Who Explain Us to Ourselves

Hillbilly and the People Who Explain Us to Ourselves

Academics have fancy names for it now. Urban Chauvinism. Urban-Centrism. Ruralism. Metronormativity.