To Live Here, You Have to Fight

By Jessica Wilkerson,

Book cover of To Live Here, You Have to Fight: How Women Led Appalachian Movements for Social Justice

Book description

Launched in 1964, the War on Poverty quickly took aim at the coalfields of southern Appalachia. There, the federal government found unexpected allies among working-class white women devoted to a local tradition of citizen caregiving and seasoned by decades of activism and community service.

Jessica Wilkerson tells their stories within…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked To Live Here, You Have to Fight as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Wilkerson finds feminists everywhere in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, which makes this the most geographically unexpected book on this list. By showing how women were central to many social justice movements – not only feminism but environmental justice, health care, and welfare rights – Wilkerson shows us how women truly did lead in the 1970s, in parts of the country where stereotypes suggest they shouldn’t be active at all.

From Melissa's list on U.S. grassroots feminism.

Want books like To Live Here, You Have to Fight?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like To Live Here, You Have to Fight.

Browse books like To Live Here, You Have to Fight

Book cover of Groundswell: Grassroots Feminist Activism in Postwar America
Book cover of Living for the Revolution: Black Feminist Organizations, 1968-1980
Book cover of Chicana Power!: Contested Histories of Feminism in the Chicano Movement

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,187

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Appalachia, women, and feminism?

Appalachia 51 books
Women 649 books
Feminism 362 books