Remembering Betty Jean Hall

Betty Jean Hall ’68 built her career on transforming lives in practical and tangible ways. She was born in Buckhorn, Kentucky, graduated from Berea College with a degree in history and eventually earned a law degree from Antioch School of Law. Hall became a fiery lawyer who fought for the rights of Appalachian women to work in coal mines and “really honest-to-goodness make a decent living,” as she was quoted saying in the 1981 film “Coalmining Women.”

Hall piloted the Coal Employment Project in 1977. Standing barely five feet tall, she took on large coal corporations advocating for women in the nation’s poorest region to have access to higher-paying coal-mining jobs previously open only to men. Hall held conferences, provided training and won public-service awards. Though small in stature, she stood fearless in the courtroom, paving the way for thousands of Appalachian women to provide a better life for their families.

After Hall’s death in August 2024, Jim ’68 and Sharen Branscome and Diana Durham, Fd. ’68, advocated for an endowed fund to memorialize Hall and to provide scholarships to Berea College students from economically distressed Appalachian counties. The scholarship is for highly motivated students who demonstrate leadership skills through campus or community service and who are proficient in the classroom.

It seeks to support students whose background, determination and heart for others are in line with Hall’s spirit and actions. Hall’s daughter said, “My mother believed in the underdog; she gave up a high-priced legal career to help the under-advantaged.” This scholarship for Berea students allows that work to continue—helping the next generation of Berea graduates become tomorrow’s national advocates.

The Betty Jean Hall Endowed Scholarship was established by Tiffany and Kevin Olsen, Tim Burke, Janet Hall Smith and the women miners of the Coal Employment Project.