Judy Bonds
By Chris Guajardo
MCS Spanish Teacher
Last year, Manhattan Country School’s seventh and eighth grade classes chose to focus their energies and their annual activism project on Mountaintop Removal (MTR). Mountaintop Removal is a coal mining practice that uses explosives to blast and scrape the tops of mountains to expose multiple layers of coal.
In May, MCS traveled to Coal River Valley, West Virginia to learn more about Mountaintop Removal and its adverse affects on communities and their ecosystems. On their trip they met a remarkable leader and activist of the Appalachia community named Julia “Judy” Bonds.
Judy Bonds stood up to big coal companies and their supporters that are destroying the environment and communities of Appalachia. She was a leading voice in the movement to end Mountaintop Removal and later became Executive Director of Coal River Mountain Watch.
January 3rd marked a very sad day with the passing of Judy Bonds at the age of 58. A public memorial was held on January 15th. After being made aware of the news of her passing we started to wonder if and how her work would be carried on. So many are thankful that Judy did leave her legacy and spirit to continue this struggle. Here how you can help …
• Spread the word: http://www.ilovemountains.org/spread-the-word/
• Contact your representatives: http://www.ilovemountains.org/write-your-rep/
• Contact your senator: http://www.ilovemountains.org/write-your-senators/
• Donate to Judy’s organization: http://www.crmw.net/crmw/node/44
• Attend an event: Power Shift 2011 in Washington, D.C. April 1-4
• Watch a documentary (featuring Judy): Black Diamonds, Mountain Top Removal, Burning the Future, Coal Country, and On Coal River
• Read a book: Coal River, Plundering Appalachia, Crimes against Nature, Mountain Justice and Something’s Rising
It is so vitally important that people outside Appalachia gain a functional understanding of their connection to the horrors that take place here. Thank you, Chris, and all your students at MCS, for taking steps to help further that understanding.
We are ALL Americans, but as long as Mountaintop Removal persists, Appalachian people are relegated to second- or even third-class status. With your knowledge and activism, we can right that wrong.
Thank you for fighting MTR with us here in WV! We need to spread the word far and wide and keeps Judy’s message going!
I meant keep Judy’s message going!