Emerging Leader: Kathleen Murphy

March on the Mansion

by Kathleen Murphy

 

Kathleen Murphy is one of the newest Eco-Stewards having participated this summer in the Seattle trip. When she returned home, she kept the momentum going by rallying against a corporate pipeline (Mountain Valley Pipeline) to be constructed in her home state of Virginia.

It’s easy to get bogged down by the enormity of it all. The doomsday predictions, the destruction of our natural resources, conflicting interests furthering stereotypes of supporters on each side, and most of all - the feeling of being so small that you, one individual, cannot make a difference and your voice will be drowned out by all the noise.

When we feel overwhelmed it’s easier to retreat, simply throw up our hands and say the problem is too big. The noise is deafening. Who will hear me, even if I yell?

During my time with the other eco-focused young adults on our Eco-Stewards trip to Seattle, I learned many things that continue to shape my perspective and daily habits. We met with members from the Lummi Nation, a Native tribe living in the far northwest portion of Washington State. The Lummi have been in this area of Washington for generations and are very connected to the waterways in the area, mainly the Salish Sea. These waters are sacred fishing grounds for the Lummi. The immense respect their people have for the water influences the life of the tribe and the life of each individual. This respect, sadly, is not a part of the culture in corporate oil and coal export. Corporate interests have pillaged the Lummi’s sacred waterways for oil and coal. Luckily, the Lummi were courageous enough to fight, and defeat, plans to install another massive export facility.

Corporate interests plan to do similar things here, in Virginia, by building a natural gas pipeline that runs through some of Virginia’s most pristine mountainous landscapes. Our governor has decided to support the pipeline to the shock and disappointment of many citizens. Our disappointment turned into action.

A number of community groups and non-profits organized a “March on the Mansion” to show our opposition to the pipeline. Even on a 98-degree day, with the heat index well over 100, we took to the streets of Richmond in a physical manifestation of resistance. Conservative estimates  say the crowd was 600 strong. I think it was more. We marched from the James River, which is being polluted by the region’s electric utility monopoly, past the electric utility’s headquarters, through Capital Square to the Governor’s Mansion. We were loud, we had signs, we had community.

When you think that the noise is too loud for you to be heard, do not retreat. This is too great an issue to retreat. God’s Creation is at stake. So, when you feel like you will be drowned out, join others and yell together. The sum of all of our voices can, and will, overcome the noise.