March on Blair Mountain

After 14 individuals occupied the office of the Kentucky Governor in February 2011, author Wendell Berry urged others to take up the cause and "make it your adventure.â€ Now an upcoming event, the Appalachia Rising: March on Blair Mountain, will give thousands of people from Kentucky and across the region an opportunity to do just that.

A five-day march and culminating day of action is being planned for June 4-11 in West Virginia. In the footsteps of Appalachia Rising, the march will demand investment in sustainable economies in Appalachia, the abolishment mountaintop removal, the preservation of Blair Mountain, and the strengthening of labor rights. KFTC is one of many groups who have endorsed the march and rally as an important opportunity for those working in the sustainability and labor movements to work together towards a sustainable and just Appalachia.

KFTC encourages our members to participate in this event. Below you’ll find a lot of information about how to get involved. Anyone who plans to take part should visit the event webpage to register on-line and learn the latest details. In addition, KFTC will host a conference call at 8 p.m. on May 18th for Kentuckians to get their questions answered about this event. For information about how to join that call, contact Lisa Abbott or call 859-200-5159.

Here’s what you need to know to get started in your planning for the March on Blair Mountain.

• Choose your own adventure. Individuals who want to take part in the march should arrive in Charleston, West Virginia on the evening of June 4th. After a day of training on June 5th, the group will walk about 10 miles a day to the final rally and day of action at Blair Mountain on June 11th. If you don’t want to take part in the march, you should plan to arrive in Logan, WV on June 10th for a day of training and preparation. Then you can join the rally and day of action at Blair Mountain on Saturday, June 11th.


• Camping for most. Cots for some. Hotels if necessary. Organizers have secured free sites for camping along the march route. Evening programs will feature music, story-telling, and planning for the day of action. Marchers should bring their own tents and sleeping bags. It is possible to reserve a cot to sleep on if you sign up early. If staying in a hotel is necessary, those arrangements are possible, but you’ll need to pay for your own room and transportation to and from the campsite will be challenging.


• There will be lots of logistical support. Each morning, bags and camping equipment will be loaded onto buses and vans and driven to the next campsite. All meals will be provided throughout the march and on the day of the rally. At the end of the rally, marchers will be able to catch a ride back to their cars in Charleston. Organizers are also planning to provide activities for children during the evening programs and day of action.


• Keeping costs low. The suggested cost to participate is $30 for youth, $50 for a standard donation, and $100 or more for people who are financially comfortable. These fees cover the costs of all food, bus/van transportation, and trainings, along with other planning expenses. Participants are expected to pay for their own parking in Charleston, which will cost $3/day/car. Everyone is expected to provide their own transportation to the march or the rally, plus bring their own tent and sleeping bag. (Cots and other camping equipment may be available to borrow if you contact organizers early.)


• Scholarships are available. The Alliance For Appalachia has set aside some funds to cover the registration costs for individuals who belong to KFTC or any of the other Alliance groups. To request a scholarship, please register as soon as possible at http://marchonblairmountain.org. Check the box that says you are a member of an organization that belongs to the Alliance for Appalachia.


• Pack light. If you plan to participate in the march, you should bring your own tent, water bottle, sleeping bag, clothes for rain or shine, walking shoes, and essential toiletries.


• Non-violence training and safety precautions. Nonviolence trainings will be offered on Saturday, May 28th in Hazard, Kentucky; Sunday, June 5th in Charleston, WV, and Friday, June 10th in Logan, WV. All participants are expected to attend one of these sessions. More information about guidelines for participation and important safety precautions can be found at the following sites:
  
  
  
  • Guidelines for participation
  
  
  • Safety precautions 

Here’s how organizers of this event describe the significance of Blair Mountain in the history of the labor movement and the movement to end mountaintop removal mining: 

Blair Mountain in Logan County, West Virginia, was the site of the largest open class war in U.S. history. In 1921, after a generation of violent suppression and exploitation of the people in the southern coalfields of WV, 15,000 coal miners rebelled in an attempt to overthrow the control of coal barons.

They met the anti-union forces of the coal-operator army on Blair Mountain and the surrounding ridges. The battlefront was roughly 15 miles long, and more than one million rounds were estimated to have been fired over the course of the five day battle. Both sides were heavily armed with machine guns, high powered rifles, and explosives. The anti-union forces even employed airplanes for reconnaissance as well as for dropping homemade bombs on the miners.

With the battle raging in the hills and hollows around Blair Mountain, federal troops were called in and were able to peacefully stop the conflict without a shot fired. The miners dispersed and went back to their homes, and the news reporters returned to their editors. The battle received above the fold coverage in major newspapers of the day, including the New York Times. But soon, the battle faded into obscurity, and over time has been largely forgotten.

So today, although this battle was the largest insurrection after the Civil War, it is not taught in our schools and most Americans and even West Virginians have never heard about it. Even worse, the battlefield is severely threatened by encroaching surface mining operations, and the fate of this remarkable place is uncertain.