Rising Up for Appalachia!

This coming weekend, September 25-28, the Appalachian Voices crew will be traveling to Washington D.C. for the Appalachia Rising: Voices from the Mountains conference. The weekend workshops will be educational, focusing on issues such as: mountaintop removal, coal ash, coal-fired power plants, citizen lobbying, climate change, resource extraction, corporate campaigns, organizing efforts and legal rights.

The conference will be followed by a rally as well as a day of citizen lobbying Congress.

On Monday, activists from all over the country will walk the streets of D.C. to rally against mountaintop removal coal mining in a Day of Action. Citizens will begin marching at Freedom Plaza and continue down Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues to arrive in Lafayette Park, facing the White House, where the rallying will continue.

On Tuesday, citizens will participate in a day of lobbying Congress. Appointments are scheduled for activists to meet in the offices of congressional members to voice their opinions on mountaintop removal coal mining practices. Lobbying is a highly effective way to create change because it allows citizens to stand up in person and tell congressional leaders directly how they would like them to vote. It is a way to participate in government affairs as an exercise of civic duty. Those interested in joining, please visit ilovemountains.org.

Appalachian Voices staff will be hosting two lobbying workshops on Saturday from 2:30-4:30 and Sunday from 10:30-12:30 (classroom # to be announced). We will also have a table in the registration area throughout the weekend to sign people up for the day of lobbying.

Appalachia Rising will provide the perfect opportunity for citizens to learn about mountaintop removal coal mining, the procedures and importance of lobbying and, most importantly, a platform to talk with decision-makers about their concerns.

The streets and offices of Washington are ready and waiting so let’s give Appalachia the voice it needs to rise back up where it belongs!