The coal-industry related chemical spill in West Virginia has received a lot of coverage. For other bad news related to coal, the article "Something Inside of Us" by Holly Haworth in the Oxford American details how Albert Turner Jr, son of the civil rights leader Albert Turner, cut a deal to ship tons of coal ash to the Black Belt of Alabama.
He claims the money has helped the community, but by going by others' accounts, it hasn't done anything other than build a hotel. It's a tale of environmental injustice.
Albert Turner Sr. words are used at the end of the piece: "The system is where the problem is, and we have not found enough black elected officials who are about changing the system. They want to sit in the same seat that [white power] sat in. That's all they want to do--take the seat that he had, but nothing about changing the whole structure so that the poor or oppressed people will be able to be more a part of this society."
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