Please post far and wide.

     There is a changing in the consciousness of the
people of the Appalachian Mountains afoot, a
Pan-Appalachian awareness if you will. Since Mountain
Justice Summer began over 24 people have been arrested
defending our mountains in nonviolent acts of civil
conscious. Mountain Justice Summer has broken across
state lines. The people of Appalachia who are fighting
for our mountains are beginning to think of themselves
as belonging to these majestic mountains first, across
state lines, across class lines, across political
lines. The realization that we are indeed a mountain
people has taken root and momentum that no one
believed possible before exceeding even the
expectations of the organizers of Mountain Justice
Summer.

     First it began in West Virginia. After a week
long training camp Mountain Justice organizers began
by going door to door in the effected communities
listening to the concerns of the effected coal fields
and forming local alliances with shoe leather and by
pure grassroots effort. Then MJS supported local
community members and organizations as they engaged in
the first act of civil conscious to defend a local
community school located 150 feet from a toxic coal
silo and a few hundred feet from a massive sediment
dam, a predictable tragedy waiting to happen. At a
rally on May 24, two Coal River Valley residents were
arrested when they were refused admittance to present
their demands at the Goals operation.
http://www.ohvec.org/galleries/people_in_action/2005/03_31/
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/24772.html
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20050526170309676

     The two Coal River Valley residents insisted on
presenting demands of a nontoxic future to the Massey
Corporation in a historic act of resistance to power
and were almost immediately released. Following MJS
participants with over 100 people attended a hearing
where they demanded justice for the children of Marsh
Fork at a state sponsored hearing, not one person
spoke supporting Massey. Days following this on May
31, sixteen people were arrested, including an
82-year-old grandmother, while delivering the same
demands A West Virginia Television station referred to
Massey as a “terrorist” corporation on air!
http://www.tnimc.org/media/all/display/3040
http://www.wvec.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8B1JK900.html
http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=3538983

     Then Mountain Justice Summer proceeded to
Kentucky. We were generously hosted by the local
community by a family whose daughter had been killed
by an overweight coal truck whose driver was drugged
up. First there was a FILM FEST – which over 200
people attended and donated money, was covered by the
newspapers and a lively public discussion ensued. Then
their was a RALLY in which over 175 people turned out
and which the president of the Kentucky coal
association Bill Caylor ate toxic coal sludge which
made the front page of the Lexington news paper in a
large full cover photo. There was great positive
energy and high spirits and the march went smoothly. 

     When confronted with 60 pro mountain top removal
supporters who had been bused in by the company MJS
folks 100% kept their commitment to nonviolence and
refused to be provoked by coal company stooge taunts.
Multiple banner drops went off flawlessly, and the
amazing and unique atmosphere allowed interaction
between speakers and the crowd lent itself to great
networking. The street canvassing during the week was
easier and more fun than people thought it would be,
people listened and were interested and interesting.
During the week the week there was a coal truck survey
where MJS volunteers observed illegally overweight
coal trucks stampede on to the public highways, and in
general the week went off flawlessly.
http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/7274/1/275
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/11926552.htm
http://www.tnimc.org/media/all/display/3129
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/11881244.htm

     Then Mountain Justice Summer proceeded to South
Western Virginia. After two days of down time MJS
volunteers went into the community of Appalachia where
last year a 3 year old boy was crushed while sleeping
by 600 pound boulder which came off a mountain top
removal project above their home in the middle of the
night. The reception of the MJS volunteers by the
community surpassed everyone’s expectations with over
80 percent of the people listened to expressing rage
and anger at the criminal coal companies stealing
their mountains and murdering their children. MJS
volunteers split their time between the listening
project and networking in Richmond Virginia where the
Massey world headquarters is located for the July 8
international day of action.
http://www.agrnews.org/issues/298/localnews.html#1
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4489461
http://www.ohvec.org/links/news/archive/2005/fair_use/01_06.html

     Now MJSers are mobilizing to return to West
Virginia to Larry Gibson’s land which has been mined
till the land which has been in his land for
generations has gone from being the lowest point on a
ridge to the highest to listen, learn and plan for the
July 8th international day of action. The West
Virginia DEP has granted the permit for an additional
toxic coal silo next to the existing one apparently
not satisfied with the rate of sickness among the
school children who attend Marsh Fork Elementary.

WHITESVILLE, WV Residents of Coal River Valley today
expressed outrage overthe West Virginia Department of
Environmental Protection’s (DEP approval of a second
coal silo immediately adjacent to Marsh Fork
Elementary School in Sundial. The DEP also approved
the permit renewal for a 2.8 billion-gallon sludge dam
--a toxic waste storage lake-- 400 yards from school
grounds.

On July 8th as the rulers of the eight most powerful
nations meet in Scotland to decide our fates,
communities around the world will take to the streets
to fight back against the fossil fuels industry’s
devastation of our Earth and its people.

      Mountain Justice Summer, in conjunction with
Venezuelan communities fighting coal mines in their
country, the people of Appalachia and folks from all
across the east coast will descend on Richmond, VA to
confront one of the most ruthless coal companies in
the US, Massey Energy Co, which has been
systematically destroying the mountains and people of
Southern Appalachia through a form of mining called
mountaintop removal (MTR). Indigenous people in
Venezuela are rising up against large-scale coal
development projects whose profits they know will not
benefit their local community.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%=!business&s=1045855934855
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20050602161110114

Then in August MJS volunteers will assist in the
defense of Tennessee’s mountains. The Tennessee
Calendar is crowded into July through to August when
officially Tennessee host MJS. A sample of the August
schedule planned in Tennessee includes: Listening
Projects (and mine tours) in Eagan Mtn, Rally in Elk
Valley, Water testing, a Landslide Tour, Music for the
Mountains Concert, a National Coal Rally, Nashville
block, an Action at Vanderbilt University whose
president is on board of Massey, TDEC rally, TVA/OSM
Protest, Cakewalk/Bake-off/Dunk a Mountainhugger in
Elk Valley, TN just to name a few events.

     In addition to all of this MJS volunteers have
provided ground support to Coalfield citizens arrested
delivering demands to Massey headquarters
RICHMOND, VA—Concerned parents and other citizens of
Coal River Valley, West Virginia, with support from
Mountain Justice Summer participants, today delivered
a list of demands to Massey Energy’s headquarters in
Richmond, Virginia, insisting that Massey respond. Two
were arrested for trespassing when they refused to
leave the premises until Massey responded to their
demands.
http://www.wvec.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8B1JK900.html
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RT


This is just a small sample of what Mountain Justice
Summer has, is and will accomplish before this first
summer is over. A consciousness of the Pan Appalachia
scope, and indeed the international scope of the
attack on our watersheds has risen among volunteers
who have gone door to door in 4 different states
affected by MJS. No longer do members of small
coalfields communities feel alone in their struggle
against Mountain Top Removal—MJS volunteers have
literally gone door to door to tell them they are no
longer alone in their struggle.

The call continues. Writers, photographers, science
geeks, folks with cars (oh yes folks with cars
especially!), writers, musicians, fishermen, hunters,
teachers this is a call to you. The more people who
get involved in this dynamic offensive against
Mountain Top Removal this summer the more mountains we
will be able to save. We also need folks with cell
phones and climbing equipment. Goto our website at
mountainjusticesummer.org and fill out an intake form.
You will be contacted.

And yes, as always, we need money. Your donations are
not tax deductible. Not one staff person will get a
dime from your cash—but we need help with our legal
expenses, for gas (send gas cards!), for copies and
the Mountain Defenders—our regional papers we are
putting out with information about Mountain Top
Removal to assist our listening projects. We are
documenting every dime that comes in and out on
Microsoft excel and our books are open to MJS
organizers anytime. If you can help us with cash, gas
and supplies goto our website at
mountainjusticesummer.org
We have a paypal and regular snail mail address there.

You can also view our ongoing somewhat complete lo-tek
calendar of events on our webpage. If all you can do
is give two days for your mountains and watersheds
then plug in. If you are in Tennessee, West Virginia,
Virginia, Kentucky or any part of the Appalachia
mountains your cultural and biological heritage is
under attack. We are a mountain people! The attack on
our mountains by corporate carbetbagging coal
companies is across state boundaries! The destruction
of highland watersheds is a crime against future
generations who will need that water—you cannot drink
coal.

Mobilize now and plug in! We can use as much time as
you can donate. We are at the brink of turning the
tide and one person, you, may be what we need to hit
critical mass. Mountain Justice Summer is making
history and needs you to be a part of it. But Mountain
Justice Summer is not about making history, its about
saving watersheds and mountains for the future. Help
us make history by saving the future.

For the Mountains!

Mountain Justice Summer
Information Action Faction
(MJS-IAF)

mountainjusticesummer.org

mountainjusticesummer.org