The site of the Coal Miners Battle of Blair Mountain is under threat of Mountain Top Mining. Friends of Blair Mountain need your help protecting this important part of labor rights history Monday, December 9, 2013. More info below. Friends: I believe very sincerely that the fate of the Blair Mountain Battlefield will largely be decided on Monday, December 9, 2013. The following letter will explain why and what you must do to help if you wish for the battlefield to be preserved. The letter is lengthy but bear with me, it is vitally important. Our ongoing efforts to save the Blair Mountain Battlefield, while raising significant public awareness, uncovering much information, and winning more allies to our cause, have only tangibly gained one “concession” from the major landowners and managers (NRP, Alpha, and Arch) – they have agreed to enter into a “programmatic agreement” which is intended to ensure that the permits relating to the battlefield abide by section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This was made public last summer in the Charleston Gazette and the Army Corps of Engineers have asked for groups to apply for consulting status on the agreement. On the surface this seems like a significant gain. However, a programmatic agreement does not guarantee any kind of land preservation or park development. It only means that some type of preservation effort be made if the site still holds historic “integrity.” It is integrity here that is in question. Our organization believes, based on reliable evidence that portions of the surface area of the Camp Branch Permit on and around the battlefield area have and are being damaged. This damage would destroy any “integrity” of the site, rendering section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act null and void. In other words, the companies involved are potentially destroying valuable archaeological evidence before the area can be inspected and studied by the public and qualified experts. By the time the programmatic agreement comes into effect, there will be no “integrity” left on the battlefield area of the Camp Branch Permit, and thus, the companies will be under no legal obligation to preserve it. These activities by the companies would, of course, be in violation of the law. We have written documentation from the Army Corps of Engineers and from the WVDEP that they are aware of violations on the Camp Branch Permit. In September, we were granted a site visit. However, we were not allowed to view all of the site and not allowed to document what we saw. One of our attending board members, Kenny King, fell and broke his ankle, shortly thereafter, the site visit was cut short. We requested a second site visit and were denied. We appealed to every proper state authority, other vested organizations with influence to help, and to the media, and made them all aware of the danger to the battlefield. Nothing. We all know who runs things. There is however one last glimmer of hope. Since that time we have appealed to the West Virginia Surface Mine Board and been granted a public hearing to state our case and reveal our evidence on Monday, December 9 at 8:30 am in Charleston, West Virginia. That is less than three weeks away, which gives us little time to mobilize. Our appeal is to be granted a full site visit, since the first was incomplete, in order to find out exactly what portions of the battlefield have and are being damaged, and to put a stop to further damage. The significance of this hearing is difficult to overestimate. If the Board rules in our favor, then we can properly document the violations on Camp Branch and force the companies to halt any further destruction of the battlefield before some preservation settlement or agreement can be reached. If the Board rules against us, then the companies can continue to make evidence disappear so that there is little if anything at all worth saving by the time the programmatic agreement takes effect. For this and other reasons which will be revealed at the hearing, Camp Branch is the key to Blair Mountain. That brings you up speed. Here is how you can help: On December 9, we need your physical presence at the hearing in Charleston. You and everyone you can bring. Keep in mind that the rules of the Surface Mine Board prohibit any disruptive behavior at their hearings, and I’m afraid that if we bring signs or banners or use other such behavior it will, in this instance, hurt our chances to save Blair Mountain. What I do ask is that you come and bring only two things: 1. A red bandana 2. An Iphone or an equivalent recording device As most of you know, when you wear a red bandana to the hearing then you are making your stand with the miners of 1921. Nothing else needs to be said. Our presence and what we wear will say it all. The second part we shall call the Blair Living History Project. Friends of Blair Mountain exists first and foremost to preserve the history of Blair Mountain. For better or worse, the fight to save the battlefield has become a part of this history. Because we are not only preserving history but participating in it, I ask for all of your participation in the documentation of this moment. In this case, “living history” is about documenting your personal experience of this significant point in time. On December 8th, I ask that each and every one of you who are coming to Charleston to begin documenting your trip there. Use everything at your disposal, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, make your own website, write a blog, film, interview a local. Document everything: where you are staying, the people you meet, the town itself, why Blair is important to you, what you see at the hearing, what you make of the evidence presented, whether or not the hearing was fair or a kangaroo court, and what you think should happen next. The idea is to broadcast instant documentation of these events, the evidence presented, and their significance as soon as they happen to as large an audience as possible. It’s living history. In this case you are the historians and what you document is an act of preserving an important time in Appalachian history. Of course I do not need to go into detail about why this is an important time. There are big changes coming to Appalachia, and I want to be forthright. There is a lot of fear and anxiety in the coalfields now and matters must be approached with great delicacy. That is why I ask that you come as concerned citizens showing your support for Blair and participating in the Blair Living History Project. I must also emphasize that it is because of these changes, and the role that Blair plays, it becomes so imperative to record this event. Blair Mountain isn’t just about who we were, it is about who we are. And perhaps most importantly, what happens to Blair is a great indicator of where we are headed. Additionally, if those who wish to destroy the battlefield try to use illegal activity or deception to bring their plans to fruition and sweep the truth under the rug, you will be there to document and broadcast. This is why I ask for your presence and your participation in preserving this history. If enough of you participate then you will tip the balance; if not, then those who wish to bury this history will probably have their way. The information we will present at this hearing must be made public to a broad audience or the battlefield will be lost. Additionally, your actions as documentarians will create a very different impact. Imagine, when industry supporters park and enter the building, instead of seeing signs and banners they will see a constellation of camera flashes in their direction which will all be instantly put online. This is what some of these individuals fear most, loss of anonymity. You may use the contact information at the end of this letter for all the details. Until then, we will not be making huge overtures to the national media. You are the media. You must tell the story that a local industry-influenced media will not tell. You must reveal the truths that are trying to be hidden. Even if you cannot participate in person, we need participation online from those who are following what is happening and sharing tweets, pictures, and Facebook posts. So, on December 9, send it out and let everyone see why Blair is important, what is happening in Appalachia, and why they should care. Reveal what is happening in West Virginia, from your perspective, to the world. Bring your bandanas, come save Blair Mountain, and make sure the world watches you do it. With thanks and gratitude, Chuck Keeney, Ph. D. Chair, Friends of Blair Mountain FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO PARTICIPATE: Please email the following address so that you will receive important messages and details about December 9th become.the.media1@gmail There is also a Twitter account created just for the event. We will be tweeting details and vital information there as well. @CrookedCreekGap hashtags #Blairhearing #Iamthemedia friendsofblairmountain.org/ https://youtube/watch?v=U5t908O0j-Q
Posted on: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 00:39:26 +0000
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