Protesters shut down traffic outside Peabody Coal’s headquarters during rush hour on on April 21, 2016 — with a fence bearing their demands. (Photo: Kelly Hayes)
Missouri activists have long struggled against the environmental devastation, residential displacement and unsafe labor practices of Peabody Coal, the world’s second-largest coal producer, which is based in St. Louis. Peabody’s acts of destruction have been vast and numerous, from contaminating aquifers with toxic coal sludge to its disregard of labor safety standards, and even the looting of sacred Native artifacts. But the company’s recent bankruptcy filing has brought little comfort to those most affected by Peabody’s conquest and avarice.
A speaker from Black Mesa leads the blockade action after Peabody executives refuse to come out to meet the delegation at the company’s headquarters. (Photo: Kelly Hayes)
This month, organizers in St. Louis joined forced with impacted Indigenous community members to form a united front against the company’s current maneuvers, which they say are aimed at evading responsibility for the damage the company has done in the United States and elsewhere. Determined to hold Peabody accountable, organizers recently staged a day of action, punctuated by a rush hour street blockade, in the heart of St. Louis, just outside Peabody’s headquarters, to present their ongoing demands to the company. Residents of multiple affected communities say the march, rally and blockade on April 19 were the first efforts in a struggle to wrest the company’s bankruptcy settlement away from big shareholders and executive bonuses and toward a “Just Transition Fund” for coal-harmed communities.
Local community members, some of whom were involved with the Ferguson uprising, hold the street with their Native allies. (Photo: Kelly Hayes)
Two elders from Black Mesa stand against Peabody. (Photo: Kelly Hayes)Among other demands, community members from St. Louis, southern Illinois and Black Mesa want Peabody…