Pushback Network

“I’m proud of how KFTC and KYJwJ coordinated their messaging efforts. They were able to speak the same message, but do so in two bodies.”
– Darnell Johnson, Kentucky Fairness Campaign

Kentucky is a Southern and Appalachian state with strong ties to the Midwest. The state is the ninth most rural in the nation, with an economy based on a growing service sector and a shrinking contribution from manufacturing, mining and agriculture. Its two urban centers, Louisville and Lexington, comprise about a third of the state’s population. In addition, several sprawling counties on the border with Cincinnati, Ohio boast a larger total population than Lexington itself.

Kentucky faces many serious challenges associated with widespread and persistent poverty. The state claims 29 of the 100 poorest counties in the US, based on median household income. (Mississippi is next with 13 counties.)

Kentucky provides an excellent case study of a heavily Democratic state (at least by party registration) that has propelled conservative Republicans to state and national power over the past decade. But the political landscape in Kentucky is now in flux and seems poised on the edge of significant change.

Kentucky Anchor Organizations

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC)

KFTC is a 26-year old grassroots social justice organization with 5,100 members statewide. KFTC has built 10 local chapters, including two in the most populous cities, several in small towns located in central Kentucky, and 6 in the Appalachian coalfields of eastern Kentucky.

Learn more about Kentuckians for the Commonwealth on their website.

Kentucky Jobs with Justice (KY JWJ)

Kentucky Jobs with Justice just celebrated its 15th anniversary. KY JWJ is comprised of a diverse coalition of more than 80 labor, community, and religious organizations in Kentucky who are committed to taking action to support workers social and economic rights.

Learn more about Kentucky Jobs with Justice on their website.

What’s going on in Kentucky

KFTC has a small but dedicated core of volunteers in Bowling Green, a city of 50,000 in southwestern Kentucky, who are working to build a new chapter. In the last year they’ve held hundreds of walks and tabling events in a low-income neighborhood and on the campus of a nearby university.

In addition to registering more than 150 new voters and identifying 300 supportive voters, these conversations led to the formation of a new campaign to pass a citywide fair housing ordinance.

Kentucky Jobs with Justice organized “street theater” events featuring local youth who created performances about the importance of the election. These events increased visibility of the organization and the importance of voting in the California neighborhood, Louisville’s oldest predominantly black neighborhood.