Cover the Coal

Overview

A protester with New Virginia Majority in Lambert's Point with a sign reading, "Do Black lives matter? Cover the Coal." Photograph from New Virginia Majority, Norfolk Housing and Environmental Justice.

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.

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.

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.

Tracy Williams: "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."

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.

Documents

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, Think Progress, March 15, 2018