Cover the Coal
Overview
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Photograph: A protester in a New Virginia Majority shirt in Lambert's Point with a sign reading, "Do Black lives matter? Cover the Coal." Photograph from New Virginia Majority.
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In 2017, New Virginia Majority, the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, and Lambert's Point residents publicly called for Norfolk Southern to cover coal-filled railcars to reduce coal dust pollution around the Norfolk Southern Pier 6 Terminal.[1][2][3]
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Photograph: A protester in a New Virginia Majority shirt in Lambert's Point with a sign reading, "Do Black lives matter? Cover the Coal." Photograph from New Virginia Majority.
In 2017, New Virginia Majority held rallies outside of Norfolk Southern's shareholder meeting and sent letters requesting a meeting Norfolk Southern CEO James Squires. When Squires declines, New Virginia Majority developed the "Where Is Squires?" campaign to increase public pressure on Squires to meet with the community.[2]
Norfolk Southern has refused to meet with community members and address coal dust pollution with infrastructure like railcar covers, arguing it is too expensive and that coal dust is not a problem.
"We’re not asking Norfolk Southern to leave. They’ve been there 30 or 40 years, the community was built around them. But we are asking them to cover their cars, and that seems like a small price to pay."
—Tracy Williams[4]
According to the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, the estimated cost of preventative measures would amount to 1 percent of Norfolk Southern's $11 billion gross annual revenue.[4]
Resources and Materials: See for Yourself and Dig Deeper
Media
Barksdale, How a Devastating Air Pollution Problem Created a Black Activist-Led Movement in a Virginia Town, Vice, October 11, 2017
Geiling, 'This is a matter of life and death': A Virginia community choking on coal dust pleads for help, Vice, October 11, 2017
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Sources
- ↑ Norfolk Housing and Environmental Justice, New Virginia Majority, Press Release, April 3, 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Barksdale, How a Devastating Air Pollution Problem Created a Black Activist-Led Movement in a Virginia Town, Vice, October 11, 2017.
- ↑ New Virginia Majority Newsletter, March 2023.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Geiling, 'This is a matter of life and death': A Virginia community choking on coal dust pleads for help, Think Progress, March 15, 2018.