1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:05,366 JUDY WOODRUFF: But first: how last year's election results shook up one West Virginia 2 00:00:05,366 --> 00:00:10,000 town and how the reverberations continue to sow division. 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,000 Hari Sreenivasan has more on that. 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,833 HARI SREENIVASAN: Buckhannon is a town with a population of less than 6,000. 5 00:00:15,833 --> 00:00:19,966 It's a deeply conservative place with a long history tied to coal. 6 00:00:19,966 --> 00:00:23,433 Its mayor calls it the most Trumpian place in America. 7 00:00:23,433 --> 00:00:28,433 But Buckhannon is also where a growing group of women are finding their voice through protest 8 00:00:30,333 --> 00:00:32,533 and where speaking up has angered some people, including the men in their lives. 9 00:00:32,533 --> 00:00:36,566 Our Elizabeth Flock has published a deep look at these divisions and the women on the front 10 00:00:36,566 --> 00:00:38,066 lines. 11 00:00:38,066 --> 00:00:40,600 It sounds like a tough climate to protest Trump. 12 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:42,166 ELIZABETH FLOCK: Absolutely. 13 00:00:42,166 --> 00:00:44,300 I think it's very isolating for a lot of the women in the town. 14 00:00:44,300 --> 00:00:49,100 They are just about 70 women in a town of 6,000, and most of the town doesn't agree 15 00:00:49,733 --> 00:00:51,800 with them. 16 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,833 HARI SREENIVASAN: And so how does the town respond when they see these women picketing 17 00:00:54,833 --> 00:00:57,000 policies of the Trump administration? 18 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,066 ELIZABETH FLOCK: Not well. 19 00:00:59,066 --> 00:01:03,166 They have gotten a lot of pushback from the town, from everyone from the local fraternity 20 00:01:05,166 --> 00:01:08,200 brothers at the nearby college, to their husbands, to their neighbors, to people at the high 21 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:10,833 school,. 22 00:01:10,833 --> 00:01:15,300 Some of their kids have been made fun of for the women protesting. 23 00:01:15,300 --> 00:01:19,133 Other women go home at night and their husbands get after them for appearing on the front 24 00:01:19,133 --> 00:01:21,566 page with a protest sign. 25 00:01:21,566 --> 00:01:26,566 So, for them, I think it's a constant struggle to keep protesting, in light of the reaction 26 00:01:27,966 --> 00:01:30,000 that they are getting. 27 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,700 HARI SREENIVASAN: As you point out, a lot of these women were not engaged in this way 28 00:01:32,700 --> 00:01:33,700 before this election. 29 00:01:33,700 --> 00:01:35,800 ELIZABETH FLOCK: Absolutely not. 30 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:39,800 Most of them told me the only political participation they had up until this point was voting. 31 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:41,966 Most of them had never held a protest sign. 32 00:01:41,966 --> 00:01:43,533 This was very new to them. 33 00:01:43,533 --> 00:01:46,133 I think what is interesting is, this wasn't an organized thing. 34 00:01:46,133 --> 00:01:50,633 A lot of these women just decided individually that after the election they wanted to do 35 00:01:50,633 --> 00:01:52,733 something, they wanted to go out and protest. 36 00:01:52,733 --> 00:01:55,966 They went to the county -- in front of the county Courthouse and held a sign, and they 37 00:01:55,966 --> 00:01:58,066 found that there were other women there doing the same thing. 38 00:01:58,066 --> 00:02:02,066 HARI SREENIVASAN: And, as you point out, their protests are met with counterprotests. 39 00:02:02,066 --> 00:02:04,100 What is that like? 40 00:02:04,100 --> 00:02:08,366 ELIZABETH FLOCK: Well, the most striking example was after the announcement of the proposed 41 00:02:10,433 --> 00:02:12,866 travel ban, when the women did a march at the county courthouse, and a number of trucks 42 00:02:12,866 --> 00:02:17,433 showed up in counterprotest, mostly men, members of the local fraternity from the nearby college 43 00:02:19,333 --> 00:02:23,200 and other locals, and basically spewed smoke at the women as they were marching. 44 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,533 They were enveloped in a huge cloud of black smoke, dropped firecrackers. 45 00:02:26,533 --> 00:02:31,533 It was a scary scene in which a lot of the women tried not to run or scream and give 46 00:02:32,700 --> 00:02:34,733 the men the reaction that they wanted. 47 00:02:34,733 --> 00:02:37,433 HARI SREENIVASAN: What are the actions that these women are taking that they hope have 48 00:02:37,433 --> 00:02:39,533 long-term consequences? 49 00:02:39,533 --> 00:02:43,933 ELIZABETH FLOCK: So, obviously showing up in the streets with posters and sort of telling 50 00:02:45,900 --> 00:02:47,433 the town of Buckhannon that we are here and not everyone agrees with you. 51 00:02:47,433 --> 00:02:49,633 They are lobbying local representatives. 52 00:02:49,633 --> 00:02:54,433 One of the women held a town hall with the Republican -- for the Republican senator, 53 00:02:54,433 --> 00:02:55,966 who didn't show up. 54 00:02:55,966 --> 00:02:59,100 So, she held this town hall anyway to an empty chair. 55 00:02:59,100 --> 00:03:02,333 And a lot of them are traveling to meet with other -- they are part of the Indivisible 56 00:03:02,333 --> 00:03:04,900 group. 57 00:03:04,900 --> 00:03:07,000 And they're traveling to meet other Indivisible groups, which is a liberal anti-Trump grassroots 58 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,500 organization. 59 00:03:09,500 --> 00:03:12,766 And so they are sort of connecting the dots with other grassroots progressive organizations 60 00:03:12,766 --> 00:03:15,200 that are fighting against Trump's policies around the country. 61 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,833 HARI SREENIVASAN: And speaking of around the country, is this a microcosm of something 62 00:03:17,833 --> 00:03:20,433 that is happening elsewhere? 63 00:03:20,433 --> 00:03:23,833 ELIZABETH FLOCK: I do think this -- Buckhannon is -- it's one small town where this is happening, 64 00:03:25,900 --> 00:03:28,433 but there are a lot of indications that there are women who are doing this across the country. 65 00:03:28,433 --> 00:03:33,233 You know, 11,000 women are considering running for office for the first time, according to 66 00:03:33,233 --> 00:03:35,766 EMILY's List, after Trump's election. 67 00:03:35,766 --> 00:03:40,766 Obviously, the women's march was a huge show of interest by women in participating. 68 00:03:42,633 --> 00:03:44,533 And the Indivisible groups have been spreading across the country. 69 00:03:44,533 --> 00:03:46,533 I think there's 6,000 of them now. 70 00:03:46,533 --> 00:03:51,366 And after the story came out, a lot of women from rural areas wrote and said that, this 71 00:03:53,333 --> 00:03:55,500 really resonated with me and this is what is going on in our town as well, in Pennsylvania, 72 00:03:55,500 --> 00:03:59,800 in Ohio, across Appalachia, and basically said we're also protesting. 73 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:01,833 It is really hard for us here. 74 00:04:01,833 --> 00:04:04,500 It is really isolating, because people don't agree with us, and we're doing it anyway. 75 00:04:04,500 --> 00:04:05,900 HARI SREENIVASAN: Plenty to follow up on. 76 00:04:05,900 --> 00:04:06,900 Liz Flock, thanks for joining us. 77 00:04:06,900 --> 00:04:07,033 ELIZABETH FLOCK: Thank you.