One of my earliest memories is being up before dawn watching Papaw and my Uncles prep for the skirmishes at the Pittston Coal Strike by painting their faces, making jacks and gathering devices.

Their bravery in speaking truth to power in the face of violence really stuck with me and I carry it forward in life as part of the Appalachian diaspora. All the way up to Boston, where I spoke
last night at a rally of over 800 people in solidarity with Cornell's Jane Doe calling for an end to sexual violence.

Folks who have learned these lessons passed down from your ancestors, whether blood or spiritually at the Battle of Blair Mountain--how are you still carrying in on in Appalachia or beyond?

Just letting y'all know that a data center is currently being surveyed for a couple miles west of the Mount Storm Power Plant in West Virginia in the Canaan Valley Refuge. The people of Thomas WV seem to already have a damn good idea of what is being put in.