Our roots run deep as ironweed : Appalachian women and the fight for environmental justice / Shannon Elizabeth Bell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bell, Shannon Elizabeth, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women--Political activity--Appalachian Region.

Women.

Women and the environment--Appalachian Region.

Women and the environment.

Human beings--Effect of environment on--Appalachian Region.

Human beings.

Environmentalism--Appalachian Region.

Environmentalism.

Human beings--Effect of environment on.

Women--Political activity.

Appalachian Region.

Physical Description:

xii, 210 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2013]

Summary:

Motivated by a deeply rooted sense of place and community, Appalachian women have long fought against the damaging effects of industrialization. In this collection of interviews, sociologist Shannon Elizabeth Bell presents the voices of twelve Central Appalachian women, environmental justice activists fighting against mountaintop removal mining and its devastating effects on public health, regional ecology, and community well-being. Each woman narrates her own personal story of injustice and tells how that experience led her to activism. The interviews-a number of them illustrated by the women's "photostories"-describe obstacles, losses, and tragedies. But they also tell of new communities and personal transformations catalyzed through activism. Bell supplements each narrative with careful notes that aid the reader while amplifying the power and flow of the activists' stories. Bell's analysis outlines the relationship between Appalachian women's activism and the gendered responsibilities they feel within their families and communities. Ultimately, Bell argues that these women draw upon a broader "protector identity" that both encompasses and extends the identity of motherhood that has often been associated with grassroots women's activism. As protectors, these women challenge dominant Appalachian gender expectations and guard not only their families, but also their homeplaces, their communities, their heritage, and the endangered mountains that surround them. Thirty Percent of the Royalties from the Sale of this Book Will be Donated to Organizations Fighting for Environmental Justice in Central Appalachia. Book jacket.

Contents:

Acknowledgments

List of figures

Introduction

How can they expect me as a mother to look over that? : Maria Gunnoe's fight for her children's health and safety

We became two determined women : Pauline Canterberry and Mary Miller become the sylvester dustbusters

Let us live in our mountains : Joan Linville's fight for her homeland

You gotta go and do everything you can

fight for your kids : Donetta Blankenship speaks out against underground slurry injections

It's just a part of who I am : Maria Lambert and the movement for clean water in Prenter

I'm not an activist against coal, I'm an activist for the preservation of my state : Teri Blanton and the fight for justice in Kentucky

I'm not going to be run out, I'm not going to be run over, I'm not going out without a fight : Patty Sebok's battle against monster coal trucks

Our roots run so deep, you can't distinguish us from the earth we live on : Debbie Jarrell and the campaign to move Marsh Fork elementary school

It's not just what I choose to do, it's also, I think, what I have to do : Lorelei Scarboro's drive to save coal river mountain

Money cannot recreate what nature gives you : Donna Branham's struggle against mountaintop removal

I want my great-great-grandchildren to be able to live on this earth! : the legacy of the courageous Julia "Judy" bonds

Conclusion

Notes

References

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [195]-202) and index.

ISBN:

9780252037955

0252037952

9780252079467

0252079469

OCLC:

843025831