To Save The Land And People

Anne Lewis. 1999. Strip mining began in Appalachia in the early 1950s and increased dramatically in 1961 when the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) signed contracts to buy 16.5 million tons of strip mined coal. Unregulated strip mining, damaging to the land and watershed, was objected to by many local citizens throughout the region, but nowhere was the resistance as strong as in eastern Kentucky. Unlike other states where coal land was usually owned by coal companies, Kentucky land was privately owned, but could be strip mined without the surface owner’s consent under old broadform deeds which were upheld by the state's courts. During this critical time in coalmining history, an eastern Kentucky citizens activist group, the Appalachian Group to Save the Land and People, organized to fight strip mining. They used every means possible from legal petitions and local ordinances to guns and dynamite. Their struggle went far beyond Kentucky when a photograph of one of its members, 61-year-old Widow Combs shown being carried off to jail by Knott County sheriff’s deputies, flashed across the Associated Press wire service. The last public encounter of the Appalachian Group to Save the Land and People was on a strip mine on Troublesome Creek in Knott County. The situation became volatile, women and children were threatened, and several reporters were beaten. Doris Shepherd, one of the protesters summarizes: “We were effectively cut off from everybody...this guy stopped me and said, 'Lady, when you go out of sight this bullet doesn't know if you're man or woman, and it doesn't care.' A life was not going to stop them, or two or ten. They were here to make money. To Save The Land and People tell the story of resistance in the voices of people who were directly involved and demonstrates the creativity and energy that indigenous and working class people bring to the environmental justice movement. “To Save the Land and People is a wonderfully human and good humored presentation of a major tragedy. A downright truth-telling of a defeat without despair.” ~ Professor George Stoney, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University “A powerful statement about the land and about how we use it and how its misuse conflicts with local culture and values.” ~ Ron Eller, Director, Appalachian Center, University of Kentucky “An important contribution to the history of Appalachian resistance...very powerful...one comes away from the film keenly aware of the horrors of strip mining and why people fought back." ~ Steve Fisher, Professor, The Appalachian Center for Community Service, Emory & Henry College All films in the Appalshop collection are protected under Title 17 of the United States Copyright Law. The unauthorized distribution or public performance of copyrighted works constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, Title 17 U.S Code Section 106(3)-(4). This conduct may also violate the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and The Universal Copyright Convention, as well as bilateral treaties with other countries that allow for protection of Rights Holder copyrighted works even beyond US borders. To receive rights for public performance of our works, including educational or institutional licensing, please contact Appalshop Sales to complete the purchase at 606-633-0108 or [email protected]. You can learn more about Appalshop and our work at www.Appalshop.org