On Saturday, May 17, nearly 200 of the WVCAG’s members gathered to hear from the group’s founders and leaders from across the decades, to honor the past, move from protest to power in the present, and envision a future that works for both the people and the planet. The event honored half a century of people-powered efforts to protect and transform West Virginia.
“Our group has touched a lot of lives, helped make people-centered policies, and will now continue its work into our next 50 years,” said Gary Zuckett, who served as WVCAG’s executive director for more than two decades. At the event, he announced that he is passing these duties on to Dani Parent, who has previously served as the group’s organizing director.
“Gary’s leadership through all of this has been sort of the constant and the rock that we all rely on, so we have everything we need to rise to meet this moment with courage, unity, and action,” said Parent. “Our strength in West Virginia has always been our people, and we will continue working to build a more just state for generations to come.”
The celebration kicked off with a social hour with music by Steve Himes & Joey Lafferty. After an opening video, WV Citizen Action founder David Grubb welcomed the crowd and opened the program by reading a letter by former President Obama congratulating the organization for its work protecting our healthcare, environment and democratic systems.
Grubb, a West Virginia native who as a young lawyer worked with Ralph Nader in Washington, D.C., returned to his home state in 1974, where he helped WVCAG publish an in-depth study that documented over 400 synthetic chemicals suspected of being routinely discharged into the Kanawha River. This report was later cited as an important contributor to the passage of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
After their remarks, Gary and Dani introduced a congratulatory video message from singer/songwriter Kathy Mattea, host of the popular NPR music program Mountain Stage, and welcomed Corduroy Brown to the stage for a solo acoustic set.
WVCAG’s organizing, in addition to advocacy for safe water – which continues to this day – prompted West Virginia to pass a Utility Reform Act and create a Consumer Advocate Division, which defends consumers against abuses by utility companies. The group also successfully advocated before the state’s Supreme Court to establish their right to raise awareness through direct canvassing at the doors, and has defended verifiable voting rights and Social Security.
Zuckett, who first got involved in organizing in West Virginia to stop the aerial spraying of pesticides in the state – which made the vegetables he grew in his garden toxic – sees a bright line between the organizing WVCAG does today, such as to prevent the spread of resource-gobbling data centers without voter approval, and the challenges the group faced and overcame in the past.
Earlier this month, WVCAG filed a lawsuit with the ACLU to halt the deployment of West Virginia’s National Guard by President Trump to the streets of Washington, D.C.
“We can’t stand by, and we won’t lose hope,” said Zuckett. “What’s it going to take? A lot of good trouble. People talking to their neighbors, door-knocking, doing back-to-basics organizing stuff to generate the power to push back against this oligarchy and defend our democracy.”