SOCM (Save Our Cumberland Mountains) began in 1971 under the leadership of J.W. Bradley and environmental activists from 5 counties in East Tennessee (Morgan, Claiborne, Campbell, Hancock, and Anderson) who sought fair taxation of absentee land corporations. Together with local leaders and the work of Coalition students, they appealed to the Tennessee government, winning their first battle in 1972. Bolstered by their success, the organization then hoped to help local communities with other issues they encountered. This included fighting against strip mining in the area, primarily against Amax Coal Company who had secured a grant to mine the area. SOCM also fought for the rights of landowners, who at the time had little protection against mineral extraction on their properties. Achieving much these first few years, SOCM then voted to support many other issues besides coal mining. Since that time, much of their work has involved working with Black organizations to dismantle racism, continuing to work for fair taxation, and persisting with its fight against coal. In the last decade, efforts were directed against Mountaintop Removal (MTR) strip mining. And in 2008, the organization changed its name to Statewide Organization for Community Empowerment to better reflect the broader issues and areas served by the organization. It has been “a powerful, multi-racial, statewide organization to work for economic, environmental and social justice issues in our local communities, our state, and our nation.” For more information about current work, go to https://www.socm.org/.
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Student Health Coalition Reunion Materials, 2009 and 2013, Southern Historical Collection, UNC Chapel Hill
Files transferred from the William W. Dow Papers (#05612) that document two Student Health Coalition reunions. One attended by Dow in 2009, and another hosted in Nashville in 2013 after Dow’s death in 2012. Materials include correspondence between former coalition… Continued
Irwin Venick
Contributed by Irwin Venick, May 2016 I arrived in Nashville, Tenn. on a hot, humid day in August 1971 not really knowing what to expect. One thing for sure was that I was not in Kansas (meaning for me, New… Continued
Interview with Kate Bradley and J.W. Bradley by Evangeline Mee, 11 August 2012, Southern Oral History Program, UNC Chapel Hill
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Interview with Melody Reeves by Joey Fink, August 9 2010, Southern Oral History Program, UNC Chapel Hill
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Bill Dow
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Interview with Suzanne Kurth by Joey Fink, May 11 2011, Southern Oral History Program, UNC Chapel Hill
Suzanne Kurth is a professor of sociology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Dr. Kurth was interviewed about her experiences as a professor and feminist at the University since the 1970s. Topics discussed in this interview include: gendered differences… Continued
Betty Anderson
Betty Anderson was born in Scott County, Tenn. on March 26, 1936. In the 1970s, she became involved with Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM), a social justice organization that addressed strip-mining and other community issues in Tennessee and Kentucky. She… Continued
Charles “Boomer” Winfrey’s origins with SOCM
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Betty Anderson’s introduction to SOCM
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Interview with Susan Williams by Jessie Wilkerson, July 10 2009, Southern Oral History Program, UNC Chapel Hill
Susan Williams grew up in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and she received her degree in Biology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1979. From 1979-1989, she worked as a community organizer for Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM). She then went… Continued
Tom John and Rick Davidson on their ongoing connections with community members
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Interview with Maureen O’Connell by Jessie Wilkerson, August 11 2010, Southern Oral History Program, UNC Chapel Hill
Maureen O’Connell grew up in St. Louis, Ill., in the 1940s. She was a community organizer for Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM) from 1974-1992, and she served as Executive Director of the organization from 1992-2009. She begins the interview by… Continued
Interview with Carol Ford by Evangeline Mee, 30 May 2012, Southern Oral History Program, UNC Chapel Hill
Topics discussed in this interview with Carol Ford include: born in Kalamazoo, Mich.; moved to Florida to live with aunt and uncle; treasurer for Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM); vocational school in Jacksboro, Tenn.; thievery in the coal company office… Continued
Marie Cirillo
Contributed by John Emmeus Davis, 2015. Marie Cirillo was born in Brooklyn in 1929. Her father had emigrated from rural Italy. Her mother had grown up in a small Catholic community in central Kentucky. Every summer, her mother returned to… Continued
ETRC’s lawsuit against Davidson County Health Department
John Williams shares ETRC’s successful lawsuit against the Health Department in Davidson County. The effort was collaborative alongside other environmental organizations, including Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM), and initiated as a means to mandate the monitoring and enforcement of water… Continued
Interview with Mary Herr by Jessie Wilkerson, May 19 2011, Southern Oral History Program, UNC Chapel Hill
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Kate Bradley
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Article: “Higher Appalachia Coal Taxes Asked,” from the New York Times
Stuart, Reginald. “Higher Appalachia Taxes Asked.” New York Times, June 22, 1974. Read article online. Continued
Interview with Kate Bradley and J.W. Bradley by Evangeline Mee, 29 May 2012, Southern Oral History Program, UNC Chapel Hill
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Charles “Boomer” Winfrey
After studying geology at the University of Tennessee and working as a geologist for one year, Boomer took a job as a community organizer with Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM). As he later described his role: “They needed somebody with… Continued
Highlights from J.W. Bradley’s collection of papers
Biff Hollingsworth, archivist at UNC’s Wilson Special Collections Library’s Southern Historical Collection, comes across some highlights from J.W. Bradley‘s recently donated collection of papers. The first is a newspaper clipping of J.W., president of Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM), with… Continued
Pat Kalmans
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Interview with Linda L. Smotherman by Evangeline Mee, 31 May 2012, Southern Oral History Program, UNC Chapel Hill
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J.W. and Kate Bradley Papers, Southern Historical Collection, UNC Chapel Hill
Records, correspondence, and printed material related to the involvement of J. W. Bradley with Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM), an organization founded to support community issues arising from the increase in strip mining in Eastern Tennessee during the 1970s and… Continued
Cindy Lutenbacher
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Interview with June Rostan by Jessie Wilkerson, July 6 2009, Southern Oral History Program, UNC Chapel Hill
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Mo & Boomer
On strip mining, community organization, and “[having] fun while trying to change the world.” Interview with Maureen O’Connell and Charles “Boomer” Winfrey, recorded at a May 2013 reunion of the Student Health Coalition (SHC) in Nashville, Tenn. Continued
J.W. Bradley
Jacob “J.W.” Bradley was born on 29 June 1930 and raised in Petros, Tenn., a small Appalachian coalfield community in the Cumberland Mountains. J.W. married Emma “Kate” Hobbs in 1951. As an adult, J.W. worked several jobs. At eighteen he… Continued
SOCM’s and the SHC’s culture of ‘family fun’
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Reflections on the SHC’s approach to community healthcare
Charles “Boomer” Winfrey and Maureen O’Connell consider what set the Student Health Coalition (SHC) apart from other community development efforts in the Appalachian region of East Tennessee. Boomer focuses on the Coalition’s and Save Our Cumberland Mountains’ (SOCM’s) value of… Continued
Interview with Connie White by Jessie Wilkerson, August 16 2010, Southern Oral History Program, UNC Chapel Hill
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Maureen and Boomer on the Coalition’s Legacy
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Interview with Betty Anderson by Jessie Wilkerson, August 15 2009, Southern Oral History Program, UNC Chapel Hill
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Interview with Neil McBride by Jessie Wilkerson, May 27 2010, Southern Oral History Program, UNC Chapel Hill
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Maureen O’Connell’s introduction to SOCM and the SHC
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