Coal Archives

Kids on Strike!

Book — Non-fiction. By Susan Campbell Bartoletti. 2003. 208 pages.
Describes the conditions and treatment that drove working children to strike, from the mill workers' strike in 1834 and the coal strikes at the turn of the century to the children who marched with Mother Jones in 1903.

Oct. 12, 1898: Battle of Virden

A small band of striking coal miners in southern Illinois called out Chicago coal barons and stood their ground at Virden.

Coal Kills by Paul Anderson | Zinn Education Project

The Poison We Never Talk About in School

Article. By Bill Bigelow. 2013. If We Knew Our History Series. Textbooks portray coal purely as a relic of the past, and fail to discuss its central role in today’s climate crisis.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

Same Sun Here

Book — Fiction. By Silas House and Neela Vaswani. 2013. 304 pages.
Two 12-year old pen pals find commonalities in issues of the environment, immigration, employment, and overall human rights.

The Last Mountain

Film. Directed by Bill Haney. Produced by Clara Bingham and Eric Grunebaum. 2011. 95 minutes.
Documentary on the consequences of mining and burning coal, with a focus on mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia.

Scholastic Inc. — Pushing Coal: A 4th-grade Curriculum Lies through Omission

Article. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools, Summer 2011.
Rethinking Schools exposes links between Scholastic and the coal industry.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland

Book — Non-fiction. By Jeff Biggers. 2014 (2nd edition). 328 pages.
The untold history of coal mining in the U.S. through the lens of race, labor, and the environment.

Teaching Activity by Jeff Biggers

Dirty Business: “Clean Coal” and the Battle for Our Energy Future

Film. Produced by Peter Bull, Justin Weinstein, Alex Gibney. 2010. 88 minutes.
A feature documentary that addresses the questions: Can coal be made clean? Can renewables and efficiency happen on a scale large enough to replace coal?

Hills of Tennessee

Song. By David Rovics. 2005.
Eye-opening song that tells of the perils of mountain top removal.

Battle of Blair Mountain

Song. By David Rovics. 2003.
Ballad about the West Virginia Coal Mine War of 1920-1921.

Coal Mountain Elementary

Book — Non-fiction. By Mark Nowak. 2009. 190 pages.
An expose of the coal industry using a combination of poetry, images, first person testimonies, and newspaper accounts.

On Coal River

Film. Directed by Francine Cavanaugh and Adams Wood. 2010. 81 minutes.
This film takes viewers on a gripping emotional journey into a community surrounded by a looming toxic threat.

Matewan

Film. Written and directed by John Sayles. 1987. 132 minutes.
A feature ﬁlm depicting a strike in a mining town in Appalachia and the struggle for solidarity across racial lines.

Nov. 13, 1909: Cherry Mine Disaster

A disaster in the Cherry Mine in Cherry, Illinois, killed 259 boys and men.

Apr. 8, 1911: Banner Mine Explosion

An explosion at the Banner Mine in Alabama killed 128 men, almost all of them African American prisoners of the state who were forced to work in the mine under the convict leasing system.

June 23, 1988: James Hansen Testified to Senate About Climate Change

NASA scientist James Hansen testified to Congress stating the greenhouse effect had been detected.

Coal, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Mountaintop Removal

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools. 15 pages.
Using chocolate chip cookie "mining," this lively activity takes a critical look at how the coal industry teaches the impact of coal mining.

Teaching Activity by Bill Bigelow

Harlan County USA

Film. Directed and produced by Barbara Kopple. 1976. 103 minutes.
This documentary tells the story of a Kentucky coal miners' strike and the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.