Bluefield, Beautifully Messy

Lately, the eyes of the nation have been on Bluefield and I think they are missing the point. I LOVE Bluefield. Let me explain what I think people are missing. Bluefield is, in my humble opinion, the most beautiful place in the world and I would argue that Bluefield is one of the most truly diverse places in America. In the middle of Appalachia, we are a city that is nearly 30% black and the median household income of blacks and whites is statistically even. You may find cities with a higher level of diversity, but I have found almost all of them are much more segregated physically or economically than Bluefield. In Bluefield WV, we have one school system that serves the entire city and no major private school option. This means that everyone goes to school, plays sports, and does life together.

This level of connectedness forges great lifelong friendships but this level of diversity lends itself to many different ways of viewing the world. Add to this the fact that these rugged mountains seem to encourage and sustain an incredible level of individualism and you have the perfect recipe for an occasional fracas, meaning a noisy disturbance or quarrel. We are going to disagree, we are going to see things differently, we are going to have our opinions and we are going to let you know what they are. We don’t mind a good brawl. This is who we are. Did I mention this place produces BIG personalities? The most creative, humorous, outspoken, loving, and LOUD people I have ever met have been from here.