"In old England, if a king didn't like you, he would cut off
your head. Now, if they don't like you, they'll cut off your
project "
As the Johnson Administration initiated its war on poverty in
the 1960s, the Mingo County Economic Opportunity Commission project
was established in southern West Virginia. Huey Perry, a young,
local history teacher was named the director of this program and
soon he began to promote self-sufficiency among low-income and
vulnerable populations. As the poor of Mingo County worked together
to improve conditions, the local political infrastructure felt
threatened by a shift in power. Bloody Mingo County, known for its
violent labor movements, corrupt government, and the infamous
Hatfield-McCoy rivalry, met Perry's revolution with opposition and
resistance.
In "They'll Cut Off Your Project," Huey Perry reveals his
efforts to help the poor of an Appalachian community challenge a
local regime. He describes this community's attempts to improve
school programs and conditions, establish cooperative grocery
stores to bypass inflated prices, and expose electoral fraud. Along
the way, Perry unfolds the local authority's hostile backlash to
such change and the extreme measures that led to an eventual
investigation by the FBI. "They'll Cut Off Your Project" chronicles
the triumphs and failures of the war on poverty, illustrating why
and how a local government that purports to work for the public's
welfare cuts off a project for social reform.
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