Around 15 hours after we moved into our new home in Nippa, KY, our group headed out for Mountain Justice Camp at Jenny Wiley’s last resort. The camp served as an orientation to the issues, the movement, and the people who surround mountain top removal coal mining. Our campground was settled on a valley fill created by the construction of the highway, nestled within a temperate forest, and overlooking the scarred Black Mountain. We attended different workshops throughout the day on topics ranging from MTR 101, cultural organizing in Appalachia, to facilitation (no CIEE, you will never escape us!). As we learned about the history of resistance we were told that this movement “stands on the shoulders of giants”, referring to the Battle of Blair Mt. and other legendary events that initiated this movement over the past century. At night we heard from residents from the coalfields, Ken Heckler (the only US congressmen to march with MLK!), Larry Gibson, and Wendell Berry. Wendell Berry offered words of wisdom concerning the sense of urgency so many feel in the environmental justice movement:
“I don’t think we can treat these ecological crises as emergencies. You’ve got to maintain the integrity of your own life… You’ve got to be able to stick for a long time.”
Over the four days we learned a lot about what it is we’re jumping into. It would be an understatement to say that coal is a contentious subject in this region. It has divided communities over what will be the future of Eastern Kentucky and the region of Appalachia. On Monday we attended a Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (KySEA) meeting in Lexington. We were briefed on the past Kentucky General Assembly, where House Bill 408, the one that would pave the way for a renewable energy future was barely considered. We are learning that this is going to be an uphill struggle, but also that this movement is filled with a diversity of people working on all sides. There are those in suits who focus on policy and legislation, the young college activists who are educating their campuses, and those from the coalfields who lock down on mining sites so that the machinery cannot operate.
All of the things we have learned have made us even more excited for our project. After talking with Lisa from KFTC, we have decided to create a report that portrays a snapshot of alternative economic projects in the region. What we’ve found is that plenty of institutions have created statistical analyses of Kentucky’s capacity or suitability for industries other than coal, but none that are aimed at the community audience or pay heed to the cultural distinctness of Eastern Kentucky. We are so excited to begin profiling, interviewing, and learning from community members from all over the region who have already taken on that nebulous concept of “Green Jobs” and created sustainable work for themselves.
By Becky Goncharoff, ENGAGE Kentucky Base Intern
