Written by Dea Goblirsch and Kim Huynh. Photos by Ben Droz.
“President Obama, join me in my kitchen at 4 p.m. any day of the week and learn first-hand what you are allowing to happen in Appalachia and its mountain communities,” said Bo Webb, a ninth-generation resident of Naoma W.Va. in the Coal River Valley, “You’d hear and feel blasts coming from both sides of the valley, and if it rains, you might see water flowing black down river. The mountain behind my home is destroyed – gone forever – and across the valley Massey Energy is beginning mountaintop removal mining on Coal River Mountain. Will your administration continue to sanction the whole-sale destruction of our mountains and communities or will you respect the human rights and abolish mountaintop removal and strip mining?”
Webb is a central organizer for Appalachia Rising, the largest mobilization against mountaintop removal and surface mining in United States history. On September 25th-27th, 2010, thousands of Appalachians and their allies from across the nation will work together in the weekend movement summit, Voices from the Mountains, and on Monday we will march on the White House to demand an end to the flattening of Appalachia’s ancient peaks, the poisoning of its waters and the destruction of its communities. Organizers are committed to supporting people who choose to engage in non-violent civil disobedience.
It is time for the national climate and social justice movements to converge side by side with the movement for justice in Appalachia, join us at Appalachia Rising.
Continue reading ‘Appalachia Rising: Join the Mobilization to Abolish Mountaintop Removal!’



