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Activism
Largely due to the presence of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale has a long tradition of political activism. During the Vietnam War, and especially after the Kent State shootings, massive anti-war demonstrations took place on the SIU campus and on the streets of Carbondale, resulting in the closure of SIU, over $100,000 of property damage, more than 400 arrests and the deployment of the National Guard to restore order. 
In the 2000s, in response to the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003), Carbondale has been the site of a weekly public Peace Vigil which has continued uninterrupted from December 2001 up to the present.[
The city is home to several organizations concerned with peace, justice, and the environment, including the Peace Coalition of Southern Illinois/Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Shawnee Green Party, the Student Environmental Center, the Southern Illinois Center for a Sustainable Future, and local chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Sierra Club, and the National Audubon Society.
The city was the location for the national Green Party Congress in 2001.
Rail Transportation
Carbondale (Amtrak station)
Amtrak, the US passenger rail system, provides service to Carbondale. Amtrak Train 59, the southbound City of New Orleans, departs Carbondale daily with service to Fulton, Newbern-Dyersburg, Memphis, Greenwood, Yazoo City, Jackson, Hazlehurst, Brookhaven, McComb, Hammond, and New Orleans. Amtrak Train 58, the northbound City of New Orleans, departs Carbondale daily with service to Centralia, Effingham, Mattoon, Champaign-Urbana, Kankakee, Homewood, and Chicago. Carbondale is also served by Amtrak Train 390/391, the Saluki, daily in the morning, and Amtrak Train 392/393, the Illini, daily in the afternoon/evening. Both the Saluki and the Illini operate to Chicago, originating and terminating in Carbondale.
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