Coal Battle over Blair Mountain Battlefield

As we huddle around our Thanksgiving dinner tables on Thursday,
reflecting on the bounty of our nation, recently elected US Sen. Joe
Manchin will have the choice to either break bread with West Virginia
coal miners or dine at the table of the faltering and violation-ridden
Richmond-based Massey Energy company.

As New Zealand mourns the loss of 29 coal miners, every American coal
miner--and every American who relies on coal-fired energy in 48
states--should be thankful for the Blair Mountain battlefield and the
unending labor union struggles for basic human rights and workplace
safety.

On Friday's November 26th deadline, Manchin will have the opportunity
to either issue a public comment in support of saving the Blair
Mountain Battlefield--the most important and endangered historic coal mining
and labor heritage site--or silently acquiesce to Massey Energy's
application for a 554-acre strip mining permit that will destroy parts
of the Blair Mountain battlefield.

To strip mine the hallowed Blair Mountain Battlefield--site of the
largest armed insurrection for labor rights in 1921--would be like
desecrating Plymouth Rock.

In the spring of 2009, our nation's most prominent scholars,
historians and archaeologists--including the president of the Society
for Historical Archaeology, the former president of the American
Historical Society, officers of the Appalachian Studies
Association--made a direct appeal to then WV Gov. Joe Manchin:

"The Blair Mountain Battlefield is a unique historic and
cultural treasure that deserves recognition and protection... No doubt
much remains to be discovered, and scholars must be able to continue to
study this important chapter in American history..We are concerned that
the recent attempt to delist Blair Mountain from the National Register
may be a first step toward strip-mining the mountain for coal
production, which will destroy the historic site. The National Park
Service found that the battlefield is both significant and intact, and
we believe it must be preserved for future generations."

This past summer,
archaeologists revealed clear evidence in a new report that five areas
in the historic Blair Mountain Battlefield in West Virginia -- the most
important historic landmark for coal miners in America -- were being
bulldozed into oblivion by reckless Big Coal mountaintop removal
operations.

In 2005, United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts declared:

"The UMWA has always believed the Blair Mountain battle site
should be preserved, and I began publicly calling for it back in the
1980's. We believe a monument should be erected at the site explaining
what happened there, and that the road running through the site should
be renamed Blizzard Highway, in honor of Bill Blizzard, the miners'
leader at Blair Mountain. We support preserving the land immediately
around the battle site, because we believe it's important for future
generations to stand on that ground, and understand the importance of
what happened there. This is also a personal issue for me and thousands
of others from coal mining families who have relatives and ancestors who
fought at Blair Mountain. What they did is a source of pride and
inspiration to our families, and helps give us the strength to carry on
their fight for justice. We will never forget it, nor should America."

Will Sen. Manchin and UMWA president Roberts speak up for Blair Mountain and coal miners and their labor heritage on Friday?

Will they publicly release their comments in thanks of the legacy of our nation's great coal mining struggles for justice?

As United Mine Workers president Cecil Roberts told a gathering at
Kayford Mountain in 1996, "It's so important we not sell out our
heritage. He warned against "out of state coal companies have abused
West Virginia for 130 years."

For more information on how to stop mountaintop removal mining and save the Blair Mountain Battlefield, see the Friends of Blair Mountain.