Want to go?

Energy Independence Day celebration

Free food, music and informational sessions.

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 13

WHERE: Mingo County Community College in Williamson.

INFO: jobs-project.org/EID.htm

"They that be of thee shall build the old waste places: Thou shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the paths to walk in." - Isaiah 58:12

In honor of the Juneteenth historic emancipation celebration, the JOBS Project in Mingo County is sponsoring the first annual Energy Independence Day on June 13.

The two movements for freedom and economic democracy share a common vision in Appalachia: It's time to halt debilitating social and economic injustices, and launch the coalfield region into a new era of sustainable jobs and fair and equitable community development.

In the foreword of Obama administrator Van Jones' insightful book The Green Collar Economy, Robert F. Kennedy describes the British Parliament's debate over the abolition of the slave trade. Kennedy noted that "instead of collapsing, as slavery's proponents had predicted, Britain's economy accelerated. Slavery's abolition exposed the debilitating inefficiencies associated with zero-cost labor; slavery had been a ball and chain, not only for the slaves, but also for the British economy, hobbling productivity and stifling growth. Creativity and production surged. Entrepreneurs seeking new sources of energy launched the industrial revolution and inaugurated an era of the greatest wealth production in human history."

Energy Independence Day broadens the scope of Juneteenth emancipation vision to include rural Appalachian communities that have been marginalized and held back by the economic inefficiencies of the boom and bust realities found in the coal industry over the past 150 years.

While Juneteenth celebrates Gen. Gordon Granger's belated 1865 announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas, Appalachia's pioneering national leadership on emancipation struggles deserves special recognition.

In Wheeling in 1808, abolitionist Benjamin Lundy began his crusade as one of the nation's most important anti-slavery writers and advocates. Charleston native Martin Delany became one of the most prominent African-American anti-slavery figures and thinkers in the country; and Carter Woodson, whose family moved to West Virginia for education opportunities, recognized his coal mining experience as part of his distinguished academic career as the founder of Black History Month.

West Virginia must now lead the nation again in liberating its "old waste places" from the grip of a single extraction industry and launching a new campaign for long-term green jobs and democratic community building. One project leading this movement is a proactive solution titled simply Just and Open Businesses that are Sustainable (JOBS).

The JOBS project poses a creative vision for dealing with the plight of poverty throughout the hollers of Appalachia. JOBS' focus is to expose this "breach" with efficiency that is associated with the economic realities of most coalfield residents. The reality is that you either work at minimum wage for Taco Bell, Wal-Mart or any other unsustainable mega-corp, or you work for the coal industry. Locally owned businesses are a rarity and perhaps a dying breed.

JOBS' mission is a revival of sorts: to breathe life back into the spirit of local ownership by first focusing on that which has been at the root of holding back the creativity and markets of Appalachian people - energy. JOBS hopes to repair this "breach" by creating community owned renewable energy projects in all coal dependent regions across the Appalachian Mountains.

This Appalachian revival is not only economic, but also cultural. By celebrating and unleashing the talents and markets of mountaineers, our work seeks to end the "breach" of the hillbilly stereotype, and make our region's historically progressive mountain communities a driving force in our nation's emerging green economic realities.

So patiently, we hang the welcome signs for sustainable industry in the communities that have been economically, culturally and environmentally distressed and invite all believers in finding unity through diversity to stand with us in our fight to free the very people who have offered their loved ones, their lives, their health and their freedoms so that we may enjoy the modern benefits of the industrial revolution and our everyday luxuries of electricity.

In Mingo County, the first celebration of energy independence and a step towards truly sustainable communities for the people of Appalachia and its markets will take place on June 13.

We invite the rest of the state of West Virginia to join us from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 13 at Mingo County Community College in Williamson. Attendance is free.

Mathis, of Mingo County, is project director of the JOBS Project, a group of organizations developing green jobs and renewable energy options for West Virginia communities.