West Virginia environmentalist Larry Gibson inspired generations to save West Virginia's mountains, its people and the planet.

Chronicled in a new biography about Gibson, the book and the research compiled to produce it will be officially transferred to the West Virginia & Regional History Center during a public event on Thursday, March 6, at 6:30 p.m. in the Milano Room of the Downtown Library.

The History Center and WVU Libraries invite students, faculty, staff and the public to learn more about the life and accidental advocacy of environmentalist Larry Gibson at this open program and hear stories first-hand from several activists who were inspired by Larry Gibson. 

Author Marybeth Loribecki will also talk about the biography project and her journey researching Gibson’s life. From reviewing records to numerous interviews with his friends, family and fellow activists, Loribecki left no stone unturned to produce "Appalachian Uprising: How Larry Gibson and Friends Took on King Coal, Dirty Money, and Climate Change."

Sponsored by the WV Humanities Council, the advocacy group Christians for the Mountains, and the WVU Center for Resilient Communities, the book tells the story of Gibson, an unlikely hero from southwestern West Virginia, and how he used his home and land on Kayford Mountain as a rallying spot of resistance to mountaintop removal coal mining and its effects on local communities and the climate.  

Inspired activists and panelists include:

• JenOsha Buysse, Director of the Mountain SOL School
• Allen Johnson, co-founder of Christians for the Mountains
• Janet Keating, owner and consultant at Green Shepherd, LLC
• Dana Kuhnline, Program Director for ReImagine Appalachia
• Katey Lauer, co-chair, WV Can't Wait and trainer, Training for Change

Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. with refreshments and light music. Registration is preferred, but not required.