Interview with Judi Jennings, May 17, 2018

Partial Transcript: Yeah, so you really can hear the chickens--

Segment Synopsis: Judy Jennings is introduced and her previous interview is briefly discussed.

Partial Transcript: So I wanted to ask you first about, um, going to Barbourville and what your position was and your remembrances of, of arriving there…

Segment Synopsis: Jennings discusses how she got a teaching position at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky, which was rare for students with PhDs in the 1970s due to a poor job market. She talks about the courses she taught, the other professors she worked alongside, and the students she taught. Jennings tells Keith about how she got involved with the Appalachian Studies department, incorporating information from the program into her history courses. Jennings also discusses discovering her Appalachian family history while teaching at Union College. She talks about how she incorporated oral history into her classes and creating classroom materials for Appalachian studies. Jennings discusses how she received tenure shortly after her parents passed away, which caused her to have burnout and quit.

Keywords: Appalachian Studies; Appalachian scholarship; Appalachian students; Professorships; Teaching positions

Subjects: Education, Higher--Kentucky; Education--Kentucky; Oral history; Union College (Barbourville, Ky.); University of Kentucky

Partial Transcript: So when I came back, uh, I worked for Libraries and Archives for a little bit, um, Department of Libraries and Archives...

Segment Synopsis: Jennings talks about her work after leaving Union College and spending a year in London, England. She worked for a short time at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives in Frankfort, Kentucky, writing grants for the department. She then worked for the Kentucky Humanities Council, writing grants for the organization. Jennings tells Keith this is how she became acquainted with Appalshop through grant applications. She discusses her career path and how Appalshop became part of her career through her Whitesburg, Kentucky roommate and former Union College student.

Keywords: Archives jobs; Career jobs; Government jobs; Grant writing; Kentucky. Department of Libraries and Archives; State jobs

Subjects: Appalshop, Inc.; Career changes; Kentucky Humanities Council; Kentucky State Library; Politics and government; Proposal writing for grants; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: I want to--if I may, I want to talk to you about the Appalshop work…

Segment Synopsis: Jennings tells Keith about why she did not connect with her great-grandmother’s relatives in Appalachia, discussing education and life experience differences as a barrier to connection. She also talks about becoming a part of the Appalachian Studies field of scholarship while at Union College. Jennings cites her ex-boyfriend, Ken Winters, as her main influence for joining the Appalachian Studies field while at Union College. She recalls the Appalachian cultural events she attended with Winters, which fostered her appreciation for and interest in Appalachian culture. Jennings tells Keith about the group Roadside Theater, who performed Appalachian theatre.

Keywords: Appalachian Region, Southern--Culture; Appalachian Studies; Appalachian scholarship; Appalachian students; Roadside Theater

Subjects: Appalachian Region, Southern--Social life and customs.; Education, Higher--Kentucky; Theater; Traveling theater; Union College (Barbourville, Ky.); Women political activists

Partial Transcript: That's great. And, and you mentioned, now, the, the--a couple things I want to touch on.

Segment Synopsis: Jennings discusses her work for the Kentucky Humanities Council, assisting Appalshop in receiving grants by “translating” the language of the grant to be a part of a national movement or interest.

Keywords: Grant writing; Grants; Humanities grants

Subjects: Appalshop, Inc.; Grants-in-aid; Kentucky Humanities Council; Proposal writing for grants

Partial Transcript: But since the film has come up twice, I’m curious to know, um, why that was so meaningful to you.

Segment Synopsis: Jennings talks about the film “Strangers and Kin,” an Appalshop film she was involved in. She discusses the creation of the film and her personal feelings about the film, from the acting to the story itself.

Keywords: Appalachian films; Appalachian movies; Appalachian stereotypes; Cultural films; Film screenings; Strangers and Kin (Motion picture)

Subjects: Appalachians (People) in motion pictures; Appalshop, Inc.; Ethnographic films.; Lexington (Ky.); Motion pictures--Social aspects.; Regionalism--Appalachian Region; Stereotypes (Social psychology); Women political activists

Partial Transcript: So what were your impressions of it?

Segment Synopsis: Jennings recalls moving to Whitesburg, Kentucky, the location of Appalshop, Inc. She discusses the reactions of her Lexington friends to moving to Whitesburg, a small town in Eastern Kentucky. She tells Keith about how she was hired at Appalshop and what was appealing about working for the organization. She also discusses her relationship to the residents of Whitesburg while living in the town. She further talks about the social relationships between Appalshop workers and Whitesburg residents. Jennings tells Keith about her views on the Iraq War and interacting with Whitesburg residents who disapproved of her protestation of the war.

Keywords: Appalachian towns; Families of soldiers; Personal stories; Social relationships

Subjects: Anecdotes; Appalachian Region; Appalachian Region, Southern--Social life and customs.; Appalachian Region--Social conditions; Appalshop, Inc.; Whitesburg (Ky.); Women political activists

Partial Transcript: I’d like to talk about “On Our Own Land”...

Segment Synopsis: Jennings discusses the filming of “On Our Own Land,” a short film about the broad form deed’s impact on Eastern Kentucky. She talks about how the broad form deed is symbolic for Appalachian political activists. She also discusses Appalachian people’s relationship with coal as a cultural symbol, not merely a means of economic growth. Jennings tells Keith about getting their films shown on the Kentucky Educational Television (KET) channel. She discusses how “On Our Own Land” was not allowed to be shown on KET until after the 1988 general election, a decision which was unpopular in Kentucky newspapers. She talks about the reactions from locals and Kentucky residents to the film.

Keywords: Appalachian colonization; Appalachian culture; Appalachian films; Broad form deed; Films about coal; Free speech; On Our Own Land (Motion picture)

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social conditions; Appalachians (People) in motion pictures; Appalshop, Inc.; Coal mines and mining; Motion pictures--Social aspects.; Political activists.

Partial Transcript: But, I want to switch to something quite a bit different, um, and that’s kind of just “Shop culture.”

Segment Synopsis: Jennings discusses gender dynamics within the culture of Appalshop. She talks about how she believes the women of Appalshop are the driving force behind the organization, while the men are the public face of Appalshop. She discusses how Appalshop employees adhered to typical Appalachian gender roles, though there were no power issues between the genders in Appalshop.

Keywords: Appalachian gender roles; Gender dynamics; Gender roles; Social norms

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social conditions; Appalshop, Inc.; Gender; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: Another question--I wanted to ask some about--follow up some about fundraising.

Segment Synopsis: Jennings tells Keith about the issues she faced while fundraising and getting endowments for Appalshop. She discusses class and gender issues with fundraising, as Jennings believes women and working class people are socialized to avoid discussing money. Jennings recalls a trip to New York City to raise funds for Appalshop. Jennings discusses some tension within Appalshop while she was employed there, such as her starting salary being higher than long-time Appalshop employees. Jennings tells Keith about her work on films for Appalshop, including working with “outside” filmmakers and presenting films from Appalshop in New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, and other major cities around the United States. Jennings then talks about some criticisms she has of Appalshop, such as how Appalshop employees have high expectations but do not give out praise for accomplishments.

Keywords: Fundraisers; Grant writing; Grants; Issues in fundraising; Non profit organizations

Subjects: Appalshop, Inc.; Fund raisers (Persons); Fund raising; Grants-in-aid; Non profit; Proposal writing for grants; Women political activists

Partial Transcript: Um, because I would like to talk to you about now is, once that campaign was fulfilled...

Segment Synopsis: Jennings talks about her work on “Stranger With A Camera,” an Appalshop film about the murder of Canadian journalist Hugh O’Connor by a man from Jeremiah, Letcher County, Kentucky during the “War on Poverty” media coverage of the 1960s. She discusses the nature of the interviews for the film, which interview both friends and crew of O’Connor and members of the community. Jennings talks about how O’Connor's daughters were unaware that the death of their father was intentional until the viewing of the film and how she felt the culture of Appalachia and the United States were responsible for O’Connor's death.

Keywords: Jeremiah (Ky.); Letcher County (Ky.); Stranger With A Camera (Motion picture); War on Poverty

Subjects: Appalachians (People) in motion pictures; Appalshop, Inc.; Documentary films.; Motion pictures--Philosophy.; Motion pictures--Social aspects.; O'Connor, Hugh, 1894?-1967

Partial Transcript: In talking to you a week ago, we were talking a lot about the--your political consciousness emerging in the '60s, definitely by '70…

Segment Synopsis: Jennings talks about her upbringing not watching television, which had an impact on her political views as an adult. She talks about watching Appalshop films while at Union College, which made her aware of the media coverage about Appalachia during the “War on Poverty” of the 1960s. She tells Keith about the careful editing process for “Stranger With A Camera” and the film screenings at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000. Jennings further details the production of the movie, including recording the voiceover, the score, and reviewing the script. She talks about the issues over class and exploitation in the film, which she argued over with director Elizabeth Barret and editor Lucy Massie Phenix.

Keywords: Appalachians (People) in mass media; Editing film; Film editing; Film scoring; Stranger With A Camera (Motion picture); War on Poverty

Subjects: Appalachians (People) in motion pictures; Appalshop, Inc.; Barret, Elizabeth; Documentary films.; Motion pictures--Editing.; Motion pictures--Production and direction; Motion pictures--Social aspects.; Phenix, Lucy Massie; Sundance Film Festival

Partial Transcript: And I’m wondering if you--how, how your thoughts might have changed about, say, the murder…

Segment Synopsis: Jennings talks about how she entered into the filmmaking process wanting to find a single “truth” about the murder of Hugh O’Connor, then details how the story developed through the production process. She talks about the importance of the visuals of the film in telling the story.

Keywords: Appalachians (People) in mass media; Aspects of film production; Ethics of film; Stranger With A Camera (Motion picture); War on Poverty

Subjects: Appalachians (People) in motion pictures; Appalshop, Inc.; Documentary films.; Motion pictures--Editing.; Motion pictures--Philosophy.; Motion pictures--Production and direction; Motion pictures--Social aspects.

Partial Transcript: The first question I have is, is, uh, you, you got me rather curious…

Segment Synopsis: Jennings talks about screening “Stranger With A Camera” in Whitesburg, Kentucky, the headquarters of Appalshop, before screening at the Sundance Film Festival. She tells Keith about the mothers of those involved with the film coming to the film screening, which she describes as being “formidable.” She discusses their reactions to the film, which was overall positive. Jennings discusses the reactions to the film at the Sundance Film Festival, which she describes as being either “anti-Kentucky” or relating to other filmmakers who had been killed.

Keywords: Appalachian films; Appalshop Inc. films; Eastern Kentucky; Film screenings; Hillbilly stereotypes

Subjects: Appalachian Region; Appalachians (People) in motion pictures; Appalshop Film and Video; Appalshop Films; Appalshop, Inc.; Motion pictures--Production and direction.; Motion pictures--Social aspects.; Sundance Film Festival; Whitesburg (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Um, but I’m, I’m curious, uh, as we’ve been talking about this, if anything has come to mind of, like, “Oh, I want to tell this story or share this element of the filmmaking process" that I don’t even know to ask about--

Segment Synopsis: Jennings talks about the importance of Elizabeth Barret in allowing her to be a part of the production of “Stranger With A Camera.” Jennings also discusses her work on the Board of Directors for Appalshop and how the board changed over time, reducing in size during the 1990s. Jennings talks about the “mystique” of Appalshop and how this factor has decreased over the years. She tells Keith about what she learned from working with Appalshop, including grant writing, becoming more assertive, and learning how to compromise. Jennings talks about her involvement in the Board of Directors from 1991 to 2017.

Keywords: Appalachian films; Appalshop Board of Directors; Films about the Appalachian Region; Fundraising; Grant writing; Grants; Non profit organizations

Subjects: Appalachians (People) in motion pictures; Appalshop Film and Video; Appalshop Films; Appalshop, Inc.; Barret, Elizabeth; Grants-in-aid; Motion pictures--Production and direction; Motion pictures--Social aspects.

Partial Transcript: I like to ask people what they--how they took their Appalshop experience and applied it to their life afterward…

Segment Synopsis: Jennings discusses how Appalshop has affected her life and work. She talks about how Appalshop has changed her view on history and affected the works she has created since Appalshop in relation to history. Jennings relates her Appalshop experience to her work at the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the importance of art in expressing ideas.

Keywords: Career influences; Fundraising; Grant writing; Grants; History and art; Non-profit organizations

Subjects: Appalshop, Inc.; Art; Art and history; Career changes; Fund raising; Kentucky Foundation for Women; Nonprofit organizations

Partial Transcript: I--we’ve covered a lot…

Segment Synopsis: Jennings discusses how she feels about her contributions to “Stranger With A Camera” and Appalshop. Keith thanks Jennings for the interview.

Keywords: Appalshop interviews; Jennings, Judi

Subjects: Appalachians (People) in motion pictures; Appalshop, Inc.; Filmed interviews.; Jennings, Judi 1947-; Women political activists