Kick-Off Rally & Concert
Mountain Justice Summer Underway

by Vivian Stockman

	The MJS rally begins and the many signs get the point across.

On March 31, pro-mountain folks from Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and, of course, West Virginia gathered at the State Capitol in Charleston, WV, as Coal River Mountain Watch hosted a rally and free concert to announce the Mountain Justice Summer campaign.

“Mountain Justice Summer is a campaign to bring regional, national, and international attention to the human rights abuses and environmental devastation caused by this most destructive form of mining,” said Coal River Mountain Watch volunteer Bo Webb.

He and other Coal River members, as well as several folks from other Appalachian states, worked extra-hard to organize the rally, which featured fiery speakers and talented singer-songwriters, including former Secretary of State Ken Hechler, and whistleblower and coal sludge impoundment expert Jack Spadaro.

A massive American flag, put up across the Statehouse steps especially for the Friends of Coal rally. At the Mountain Justice Summer rally, speaker Matt Sherman pointed out this tried and true marketing technique: If something isn’t selling, wrap it in the flag.

Mountain Justice Summer is a loose coalition of individuals and groups from across Appalachia and beyond, all of whom share the common goal of ending mountaintop removal coal mining.

Katúah Earth First! didn’t want to just watch as mountaintop removal encroaches into Tennessee, so the group conceived Mountain Justice Summer (MJS). The campaign is meant to be something that any group or individual can support in whatever way they feel comfortable, as long as there is no violence or property destruction.

OVEC is 100 percent committed to non-violence. Like other groups working to end mountaintop removal, we respect the right of individuals to carry on in the grand tradition of the civil rights movement. This summer, OVEC will continue all our usual roles, one of which is disseminating information on mountaintop removal, so we will certainly be sharing information on MJS rallies and protests.

OVEC sees and understands people’s building outrage over the destruction of home and homeland that is mountaintop removal. Coalfield residents are under assault. They (we), and their (our) supporters, have tried to work within the system, but mountains continue to fall, streams and forests continue to die, regulators continue to turn a blind eye, and politicians continue to bow to the bucks of King Coal.

	Ms. Mountaintop Removal and Ms. Blasting appeared at the event and were winners at the first-ever Ms. Mountaintop Removal Beauty Contest.

OVEC, WV Highlands Conservancy, Coal River Mountain Watch, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth and other groups have brought mountaintop removal into the regional, national and even international spotlight. This attention was bound to rouse others to action.

Already, some pundits are labeling the Earth First!ers as “outsiders.” Now, more than ever, there simply is no such thing as an outsider. All life is connected and all struggles for justice are connected.