Black Cross Movement

Across coal ash sites, coal-fired plants and coal mines in Illinois, black crosses are quickly emerging as haunting reminders of the human and environmental toll of coal on the region. Signs have been left with the quotation:


You shall not press upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns.
You shall not crucify us any longer upon a cross of coal.

Imminent Danger: Black Cross Movement Hits Big Coal Giants and Global Forum in St. Louis and Midwest Jeff Biggers.Author

Black crosses that appeared Monday in several locations throughout Southern Illinois were the work of an environmental group in protest of the mining and burning of coal for energy.

Local group protests coal use

Just as southern Illinois-born populist William Jennings Bryan stirred the nation in 1896 with his famous “Cross of Gold” speech, the Black Cross Alliance calls on the Obama administration and the state of Illinois to halt billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies for multinational coal corporations, and bring an end to the scandalous coal wars in Illinois by re-investing in a sustainable energy policy for the future.


The Black Cross Alliance declares: You shall not crucify us any longer upon a cross of coal.

Black Crosses Continue to Rise Across Coal Belt as Warning



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