Coalminers shut down a mine in Blacksville, WV (the red dot on the map) last week in protest of the filming of an Anti-Obama ad at the facility. The work stoppage, which gave 440 miners the day off, was in response to a film crew, hired by the National Rifle Association to shoot interviews for an attack ad against Barack Obama, being given permission by the management at the Blacksville #2 coal mine to enter the facility and ask miners their opinions on the Illinois Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate. Workers at Blacksville #2 took notice of the production and phoned in their concerns to the headquarters of their union, the United Mine Workers of America. The union, which has endorsed Mr. Obama for President, subsequently called for a work stoppage “Memorial Day”, a part of the union’s contract, to protest the exploitation of their workers in the political advertisement which they felt was contrary to their interests.

While the response of these West Virginia coal miners to the NRA ad might have come as a surprise to the right wing, it makes perfect sense to me. While I was in West Virginia over the summer I was pleased to find a region much more diverse and open than the stereotypes leveled against it. It’s not West Virginia either, indeed both southern and rural areas across the United States are coming more and more to realize the integrated America on display in, say, a Craig Brewer movie or HBO’s True Blood than the typical racist depictions of the past. All of this is very good news for those working for true equality in this country, and bad news for those who continue to play on hate and fear politics in order to distract people from the real issues that affect their lives.

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The city of Paterson, New Jersey is considering a ban on baggy pants.   The baggy, saggy drawers look is apparently too much for the city council of the North Jersey town who are contemplating fining people for the offense.   Councilman Anthony Davis is spearheading the measure, introducing a bill that would make wearing baggy pants a violation of Paterson’s indecency laws.  

I was forced to wonder how much of this is about race and/or class upon reading this.   Then I discovered that Councilman Davis is in fact African-American which placed this rights infringing measure squarely in the “classism” column.   The baggy-saggy look obviously had its origins in the young African-American community in this country. Often these days the look is banned in an effort to maintain a certain clientele and keep a certain “element” out at certain nightclubs, some of the few places where discrimination, of all sorts, is not only alive and well, but also part of the draw for many club-goers.   But the style has grown and expanded to include multiple races, making it a statement of a subculture that spans across the old boundaries.  

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Nicole Hughes:

Should Drive-Thrus Be Banned?

Eco-Moms Mad About “Greenwash” Barbie

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Andy Kondrat:

Home Depot Will Recycle Your CLF Bulbs for Free

Department of Energy Predicts 50% Energy Increase By 2030

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Jon Popham:

NYC Waterfalls Installation Starts This Week

Capt. John Smith Is Back…and Running for President

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Giulia Rozzi:

Yoga Across the Border

Emile Norman: By His Own Design

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Gina Telaroli:

Silverdocs 08: A Post-Fest Wrap-Up

Human Rights Watch 08: Letter to Anna

Capt. John Smith, one of the earliest 17th Century English explorers of the New World, is back…and running for President. Well, sort of. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is running a fictional Presidential campaign featuring Capt. Smith to draw awareness to needs of the Chesapeake, and the rivers and streams that feed it, for the upcoming Presidential election.

The original European explorer of the Chesapeake, Capt. Smith found a rich environment filled with fish, oysters, and, of course, Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs in his journeys around America’s largest estuary. In the 400 years since the Bay has lost an enormous amount of its vitality due to pollution from the nearby cities of Baltimore and Washington DC plus the enormous runoff of fertilizer and pesticides from farmlands throughout the Chesapeake’s vast watershed stretching through Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and even southern central New York State. The need for restoration has never been greater in order for future generations to be able to enjoy the abundance the Bay has provided throughout all of modern American history dating back to the founding of Jamestown and the Colony of Virginia.

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