“Christopher debate”

In August of 1973, fourteen members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Committee on Conservation and Environment embarked on a three-day fact-finding tour of the strip mines in the town of Harriman, Tennessee, and in Morgan County. Press coverage by The Tennessean and pressure from environmental groups like Save Our Cumberland Mountains had placed the growing controversy over strip mining high on the state’s legislative agenda. The night before the tour began, the committee held a hearing in a motel in Harriman, Tennessee, where tensions ran high as strip mine operators and environmental groups alike presented their views. This photograph captures a raw, authentic moment in which Billy Christopher, a member of Save Our Cumberland Mountains, debates the Tennessee strip mine policy with then Speaker of the House and future Governor Ned Ray McWherter. Other members of the House Conservation Committee listen intently to the animated discussion.