Coal

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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