Terra, a real Vance

Terra and JD Vance are distant cousins who have never met. They grew up in different states, with family lineage that intersected generations ago. But now, as the U.S. senator from Ohio leans on his Appalachian roots in his campaign for the White House, Terra Vance has garnered a following as a fiery and knowledgeable critic.

She sees JD Vance's 2016 memoir,

"Hillbilly Elegy," and how he's used his background to appeal to voters since as a disservice to her hometown and last name. In her view, his story blames people who have been exploited — in some cases by the coal mining and pharmaceutical industries — for their own exploitation while painting himself as special for escaping the same fate.

"He cosplayed a hillbilly and tokenized himself as the golden child who worked hard to overcome adversity," Terra Vance said. "What he's peddling now — what he is doing to other marginalized groups — is exactly what has always been done to us."

Read "In the heart of Appalachia, a distant cousin of JD Vance leads an opposing ‘authentic hillbilly’ movement" on SmartNews: https://l.smartnews.com/p-iFizR/pwcLiA

Or on Facebook:

Terra Vance- Marked Melungian