CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The 100th anniversary of a deadly armed uprising by organizing coal miners in southern West Virginia will be commemorated over Labor Day weekend.
United Mine Workers union President Cecil Roberts plans to participate in the re-creation of a march that ended in the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain, according to a website about the centennial events.
About 10,000 coal miners trying to unionize joined in the march. Sixteen men died before the miners surrendered to federal troops. The 12-day battle was the nation’s largest armed uprising since the Civil War.
According to organizers, marchers will walk 15 miles (24 kilometers) each day starting Sept. 3 in Marmet. The march is expected to finish Sept. 5 in Sharples.
A labor film festival is planned Sept. 2 at Marshall University in Huntington, while a Sept. 3 concert is set at the state Culture Center in Charleston, according to the website.