West Virginia has long prided itself on the warmth and welcome of its people. It’s perhaps the only stereotype we don’t want to shake.
Recently, Morgantown was recognized for being the most welcoming and inclusive place in north-central West Virginia.
The Municipal Equality Index is a joint effort of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and The Equality Federation to rate how inclusive municipal laws, policies and services are of LGBTQ+ people. Morgantown is one of 110 municipalities nationwide — and only the second in West Virginia — to receive the index’s top score of 100. Huntington is the other MEI “all star,” and Charleston comes in at a close 94 out of 100.
This image of West Virginia — as a place that welcomes all people with open arms; as a place where kindness is as abundant as the trees, and caring for our neighbors is as foundational as the mountains — is what we want the nation to see. This is what we want the nation to think of when people hear “West By God Virginia.”
The bad in our state often overshadows the good: We don’t make national headlines for our charity drives or our hard work or our innovations. Our fellow states know us for our dying industries and floundering coal towns, for our polluted waterways and poor health, for the deep-red of our political map that has become synonymous with bigotry.
And we don’t help ourselves.
It’s easier to talk about the bad things. And too often, “good” appears as an isolated incident; “bad” seems like a feature of the culture.
We can praise Morgantown for being a bastion of inclusivity — but it looks like a small welcoming island in a sea of red-hued hostility.
We can praise West Virginia’s universities for being beacons of innovation — but they’re stuck in a state that is reluctant to move forward and try new things.
We can praise the work of our teachers and the brilliance of our students — but we live in a state that’s constantly punishing the education system.
We can praise the efforts of groups dedicated to preserving the state’s natural beauty — but we have an attorney general who fights tooth and nail against environmental protections.
Each “but …” has become our story.
Which brings us back to the image of West Virginia: How do we want to be seen — as a state and as a people?
What is the story we want to tell about ourselves?
We can’t control the narrative others tell about us — but we can give them better things to talk about. We can make this state its best self.
In the meantime, we can sing our own praises — loudly and probably off-key — until the rest of the world sees how wonderful West Virginia can be.
