By Nick & Rustina Mullins
When my wife, Rustina,
and I first began thinking about the Breaking Clean Tour, we weren’t sure what
to expect. We knew our aim was to spread the word about Appalachia’s continuing
struggle with coal, not just with regard to the devastating practice of mountaintop
removal, but also the cultural erosion and economic depression that continues to
grip our ancestral home.
Our inspiration came
from a trip to the Navajo Reservation during the summer of 2013 where we met
with other groups facing similar struggles. We witnessed the strength and
wisdom of the Dinéh Elders, and those who support them, as they continue fighting in a 40 year long battle
to
The months prior to the
Breaking Clean Tour were full of contemplation and planning. Where should we
go, how many people can we expect to reach during the summer? There were many
questions, and many doubts, but thanks to the knowledge and support we received
from Appalachian Voices and the staff and faculty of Berea College and
donations from many people, we were able to pull together everything we needed
to make this amazing journey possible. On the evening of May 23rd we
departed Berea from Union Church as Jean Ritchie was being honored for her
life’s work in both music and environmental activism.
Over 45 days and 43
nights we traveled through Kentucky, Illinois, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee,
Virginia, Pennsylvania (twice), Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts,
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, and West Virginia, our small car logging
some 7,000 miles. Each hundred miles came with a story, a new connection, a new
understanding of our world and how we can work to protect it.
The hospitality we
received along our way could only be described as heartwarming and inspirational,
so much so that it lent itself to each presentation we gave. We often spoke of
the importance of community, especially having come from a place where our own
communities have been torn and frayed by the coal industry’s lust for money and
power. Our eyes often welled up in tears as we told our story, partly because
of the painful memories we recalled, but also in realizing we were finding the
community we longed for in each audience we spoke to.
Though we must admit
there were times we wished we could speak to auditoriums full of people, we
found it was sometimes more important, even more powerful, to make connections
with people of chance encounters, be it across counters at grocery stores, around
campfires where complete strangers became friends, or in government offices and
credit unions.
Daniel and Alex especially enjoyed the tour, and wanted to share these words.
“We met a lot
of great people,” Daniel says, “We learned about a lot of organizations and of
other struggles like Heartwood fighting in the Shawnee National Forest where
natural gas and timber companies are trying to access the resources and harm
the forest. We also met people with organizations like Prairie Rivers Network
who are trying to clean up rivers from industrial agriculture. There’s so much
that needs to be done.”
“Yea,” Alex
says, “and we saw all the gas wells and tanks full of poisoned water in
Pennsylvania and people trying to clean up Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts. But we also got to see a lot of people growing their own food all over the place,
Mississippi, Champagne/Urbana, even Philadelphia! It was great. And we loved
the cows at Brown Dairy Farms! Thank you all for helping us go on this tour!”
“Yea,
Thanks!” says Daniel.
The Breaking Clean Tour
began as a trip to advocate for the protection of our Appalachian mountains, to
seek additional help in saving what is being lost forever, and to learn how
others are working to save our world. Looking back, we realize it was everything
we’d hoped for and so much more. It was a chance to share hope and sorrow, to
build alliances and to grow our family, to listen to other voices and to share
our own. So long as we keep working, keep fighting—keep caring about one another—we can make a difference, we will make a difference.
We would like to thank
all those wonderful people who donated so generously to make this tour possible,
be through financial support or with a warm bed and wonderful meal. Without
your help, we would have never been able to make it as far as we did!
We would also like to
thank the following organizations and establishments for their hard work and support
in providing us places to speak and learn:
And a very special thank you to the
following organizations for making this tour a reality.
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