From the early day of mining in colonial Virginia and Maryland up to the time of World War II, blacks were an important part of the labor force in the coal indu

In 1930 almost 13,000 African Americans worked in the coal mines around Birmingham, Alabama. They made up 53 percent of the mining workforce and some 60 percent

Employment and production in the Appalachian coal industry have plummeted over recent decades. But the lethal black lung disease, once thought to be near-elimin

Essays by the foremost labor historian of the Black experience in the Appalachian coalfields. This collection brings together nearly three decades of research o

This book traces the history of black prisoners in Alabama and their connections to and participation in the labor movement among miners in the late 19th centur