From Marmot to Harrisburg: My Journey Through Coal Country and the Fight for Democracy

By Michael Bagdes-Canning

It was in Marmot, West Virginia on the night before.

Imagine preparing to sleep and being told that someone had overheard some angry miners plotting to “shoot up” the building you and about 200 other people were staying. I always look at that day as my birthday.

My first march was life altering. In 2010, I participated in the March on Blair Mountain, a weeklong anti-mountaintop removal action, recreating / commemorating the largest uprising in this country’s history except the civil war.

We walked through the deeply divided hills and hollers of West Virginia coal country, from Marmot to Blair Mountain, encountering people angry about the devastation unleashed by the destructive practice of blowing up mountains to get to coal, and equally angry people who saw coal as the lifeblood of the region.

I joined the peacekeeping team because I had spent most of my adult life working with delinquent boys, but nothing in my previous life had prepared me for the intensity of that work.  Every day was like that first night.

What I remember about that week was the angry people that greeted us along the way – but also the grateful people who welcomed us, cried when we walked past, hugged us. The coal trucks zooming way too close and the fire departments that blared their sirens so we couldn’t sleep but also the people who opened their yards for us to use as a resting place even though they had been threatened.

But more than any of that I remember sitting around singing, young and old, the “world’s oldest Wobbly” and young people who had just come from a tree sit in California. I remember union miners telling stories about the Blair Mountain uprising and Larry Gibson talking about the fight to save Kayford Mountain, his ancestral home.

I remember meeting with the Peacekeeper Team every night to talk about the next day – the reminder that even the angry people that cussed us out were victims of the system, not our enemy.

“If you are really lucky, you become part of something special, a network of people committed to the systemic change we so desperately need. I have been lucky.”

The surprising thing to me, one of my growth moments, was finding lots and lots of young people. Up until then, all of my work had been done with people like me: older, settled, middle class. My “buddy,” we were assigned to Peacekeeping teams, was a 20 year old woman from West Virginia. We mentored each other. I learned about what it was like to grow up with fly rocks (runaway boulders that cascade down mountainsides after a blast) and she learned about fracking. We found that we had so much in common and she and I have kept in touch, even done actions together.

I have since participated in 6 multi-day marches and two multi-day bicycle tours. Every one of them have been graduate level courses in political education and interpersonal relations. You build a community as you walk. There’s a rhythm that develops. You talk to people, share stories and frailties. You look out for each other. You learn new skills and you strengthen others. You sing songs and tell tales. And all the while you are growing.

If you are really lucky, you become part of something special, a network of people committed to the systemic change we so desperately need. I have been lucky. 

Obviously, the March on Blair Mountain was one of those special times. Every day we would gather and some of us started to plan an escalation - walking onto the sacred labor site of the Battle for Blair Mountain. It was the first time I had ever been part of an act of civil resistance. It was so empowering. And it helped save Blair Mountain from destruction.

“You build a community as you walk.”

My first March on Harrisburg march was one of those special moments. Corruption is pervasive in Pennsylvania government - I think almost everyone knows that - but hanging out with corruption fighters like the crew at MoH is amazing. The talk was centered on just how fixed our system is and how we need to “force the encounter.” We started talking about making our legislators choose - bribery or democracy. When we got to Harrisburg, I was ready to act.

March on Harrisburg’s actions are well planned with well defined goals and roles. You can enter at whatever level you feel comfortable - from risking arrest to being a moral witness - using your skills or learning new ones. I do encourage you to march AND stick around for the action. It could be life changing.

The miners never shot up our building in Marmot, the streets were quiet, but that night was the beginning of my journey. I hope you will join me on the march and the journey as we push for the democracy we so desperately need.