In the late Summer of 1921, ten to fifteen thousand pro-union miners in the coal fields of West Virginia marched toward Mingo County to free prisoners taken by the forces controlled by the mine owners. There was a declaration of martial law in the state by President Harding. Between the Rednecks, so called for the red bandanas around their necks, and the imprisoned, lay the imposing and newly fortified Blair Mountain.
Holding the high ground were the private detectives of the mine owners, the State Police, the deputies and Sheriff of Logan County, the newly formed National Guard, some State Militia, and a private air force. Armed with machine guns and aerial bombs, and well dug in, the army of the owners was eager for a fight. And so it began, almost a week of armed insurrection and bloodletting.
Before the withdrawal by the Rednecks, unwilling to fire upon the newly arrived US Army, a million rounds and more than a hundred lives were expended. Today, that hallowed ground is under threat of the new breed of mine owners, at least one of which kills miners through wanton disregard for safety or law instead of with private detectives. Today, that mountain is to be turned into a molehill.
Unless the call to action by Appalachia Rising: March on Blair Mountain has the hoped for outcome of raising awareness of the issues being fought here. Those would be the destruction of the environment through Mountain Top Removal, attacks on the people through the weakening Labor rights and a lack of sustainable economy, and eradication of a historic and hallowed battleground.
