When I went to New York, I called for the rebirth of resistance, and I never thought I’d hear such a roar of people saying “Yeah, we need the rebirth of resistance.” Well yeah, we need a rebirth of resistance here to get back what the people have lost! Right now there is not enough resistance. We are natural organizers. We live in the area called the coalfields - where the union was strong. If we hadn’t organized in the beginning we would never have had anything. We can’t back up… We gotta get that grit back. That’s what we’ve got to find in people today. They’ve got it; they’ve just forgotten that they have it. Join me in resisting Mountaintop Removal at Appalachia Rising in Washington DC.- Larry Gibson
Housing
Organizers have secured fee and low budget ($20/night) housing in churches and hostels for people who can sleep on the floor or in bunks. To reserve your space, please fill out this form.
For a complete list of cheap hotels, go to this website.
Getting to Washington DC
Register for Appalachia Rising here, and we will put you in touch with mobilizers in your area who will help you get to DC. Mobilizers are organizing transportation in vans, buses, and carpools from all over the US.
Voices from the Mountains, Saturday and Sunday September 26 and 27
Voices from the Mountains is a movement-building summit the weekend before of Appalachia Rising's Day of Action. While the day of action puts our movement into unified action, Voices from the Mountains lays the groundwork of future collaboration and movement growth. It will combine information sessions from experts and directly impacted people, strategy sessions to bring the movement forward, speakers, entertainment, and skill-based workshops. See the schedule on the website here.
Day of Action, Monday September 27
The Day of Action will be a march of thousands of people, taking our message directly to the White House. For individuals who choose, there will be non-violent civil disobedience. Trainings are provided over the weekend.
Schedule:
10 AM: Rally at Freedom Plaza
11 AM: March Begins
12:15 PM: March arrives at Lafayette Park, at the White House.
Build the buzz & Spread the word
We need you to come, and bring your friends, families, and co-workers to this historic event. In the final weeks before Appalachia Rising, now is the time to spread the word with all the tools we have available. Use the multimedia on the website to inspire your friends on facebook. Spread, or write blog posts like this one by Appalachia Rising organizer, Dea Goblirsch, or this one, by environmental hero Tim DeChristopher
Twitter: Follow @App_Rising on twitter. Sample tweet: Appalachia Is Rising. Join the nat'l rally to save the mtns Sept 25-27: www.appalachiarising.org @app_rising #apprising #stopmtr
Our friend, Mickey McCoy of Inez Kentucky summed it up perfectly. "I'd rather not travel to Washington DC. I'd rather not break the law in non-violent civil disobedience. Frankly, I'd like to work in the garden in my retirement, but when 300 million gallons of toxic coal sludge from a Massey Energy impoundment flooded Martin County, my home, I found myself in a fight for the life of my land and community, and with those stakes, you don't have a choice. The time for action is now!"
