Grant Town, (WV) – Hundreds of activists will blockade the Grant Town Coal Waste Power Plant on April 9 to challenge Senator Joe Manchin’s family business for profiting off climate chaos and his refusal to support life-affirming climate and jobs legislation.
Dozens will risk arrest for blockading the plant where Senator Manchin makes $500,000 per year from Enersystems, a company that his son runs, that delivers coal waste to the Grant Town Power Plant. Manchin, who has blocked federal climate change legislation, kept the plant in business as governor by helping raise rates on residents.
WHAT: Mass Nonviolent Direct Action with dozens risking arrest
WHEN: 2 pm, Saturday, April 9
WHERE: Grant Town Power Plant, 228 ABPP Dr, Grant Town, WV 26574
WHO: A large group of West Virginians and supporters, as part of West Virginia Rising
WHY: Senator Manchin has used his power to deny West Virginians the child tax credit, coal miners assistance they need for their disabilities, and the entire country the possibility to transition into a clean energy future.
Participants will put their bodies on the line to highlight the harm from the Manchin family business, protest against the burning of coal waste, and call for a different future for West Virginia. This action comes as the latest IPCC report paints a devastating picture of what is to come if we do not quickly move away from extractive fossil fuels and address climate change. Activists will be joined by marchers from the Poor People’s Campaign’s 23 mile march through West Virginia spotlighting Sen. Manchin’s abandonment of poor and low-wealth people.
“West Virginians do not deserve to be held in an old paradigm because of one man’s greed. Our people deserve the right to move forward with the rest of the country. We are hardworking, community driven and we are not waiting for Senator Manchin to save us. We will move forward together with or without his support,” said Holly Bradley, a mother of two and ninth generation West Virginian.
“Joe Manchin has spent his career making a very lucrative living off the backs of West Virginians while talking about how resilient we are. West Virginians are tired of struggling only to see others prosper. We deserve opportunities to build a future that our kids can be proud of,” said Maria Gunnoe, Director of www.motherjoneswv.org, a Cherokee native and coal miner-descendant West Virginian. “Joe Manchin clearly has no plan other than more of the same for the future of WV. More of the same maltreatment and exploitation of the poorest people in this country.”
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.