Supporters Hold Blair Mountain Rally

• {Charleston, West Virginia}...Backed with 26,000 signatures supporting preservation of the historic Blair Mountain in southern West Virginia, Friends of Blair Mountain are calling on state officials to protect the location of the nation's largest labor uprising. In 1921, thousands of coal miners marched and fought for the right to unionize and demand safer working conditions in the mines. The U.S. Army and Air Corps were eventually called in to stop the rebellion of 10,000 to 15,000 coal miners. Based on permits for the site, owned by Alpha Natural Resources and Arch Coal, it could potentially become a surface mine. Supporters held a rally at the Culture and History Building on the Charleston Capitol Complex Tuesday, saying the movement to protect Blair Mountain is not about preventing surface mining or any mining.