Overcoming Poverty: The Struggle as Viewed by Appalachian Women

Sister LeClaire has worked for social change through the Catholic Church for 15 years in the southeast Kentucky region of the Appalachian heartland. her work gained much support after the 1975 Bishops' Pastoral Letter that addressed unjust conditions in the region and the Church's role in social justice. She was featured in a 1975 CBS documentary on poverty in Applachia. She serves on numerous councils concerned with addressing women's rights in Appalachia. A native of southeast Kentucky, Bobbie Jean McKiddy overcame economic barriers and stereotypes that keep women uneducated and out of public leadership roles to become active in organizing women's groups concerned with obtaining needed education and leadership skills. she is the administrator of a self-help community outreach center in the Cumberland Mountains.
Part of the National Affairs Series: Poverty - The Great American Nightmare.