The Battle of Blair Mountain in West Virginia was one of the largest civil uprisings in the United States. For five days in late August and early September 1921, thousands of coal miners lined up against thousands of coal company security men and deputy sheriffs in a fight for union recognition and collective bargaining rights.

The battle raised awareness of the appalling working conditions in the West Virginia coalfields, and the leaders of the march on Blair Mountain went on to become key organizers in the national labor movements of the 1930s. In 2008 Blair Mountain was nominated for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, a designation which the state of West Virginia is contesting. Today the battlefield site itself is threatened by mountaintop removal mining.

The public is invited to learn more about the history and current state of coal production in the United States in a discussion led by Melinda Tuhus on Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 6 pm at New Haven Public Library, 133 Elm St. Ms. Tuhus, a New Haven-based journalist, recently traveled to West Virginia to report on a march that was being held to support Blair Mountain’s preservation as a national historic site,  to protest mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia, and to advocate for labor rights and sustainable jobs.

For more information visit www.blairmountain.eventbrite.com or call the library at 203-946-8835.