Black Lung Still Kills Ft. Sam Petsonk

Black Lung Still Kills Ft. Sam Petsonk

This month on Mine Wars Forum we speak with organizer and Beckley-based lawyer Sam Petsonk on the topic of black lung. We cover how the disease is contracted, why it's affecting younger miners today and the legal provisions that are supposed to uphold the health and safety of these miners. We also discuss the power of organizing and how anyone can get involved with advocacy efforts surrounding the cause.  Get even more informed at the Museum’s upcoming event, Black Lung Still Kills: Entirely Preventable Gallery Opening with Speakers: https://wvminewars.org/events Learn more about Sam and how you can get involved with his work: https://petsonk.com/ Support our work by becoming a Museum Member: ⁠https://wvminewars.org/join⁠ Learn more about the Museum: ⁠https://wvminewars.org/⁠

My Aunt Hazel Ft. Buddy Dickens

This month on Mine Wars Forum we’re talking activist and musician Hazel Dickens with her nephew Buddy. From the southern West Virginia mining community of Montcalm, to the strike against Pittston and beyond we learn more about this larger than life woman who was also a beloved and inspiring family member. Hazel fought for the rights of women, miners and working people through her music and on picket lines. Plus, her legacy is being uplifted next weekend in Mercer County at a music festival in her honor! Flyaway Home Fest: https://flyawayhomefest.com/ Buddy Dickens Jam at the Museum: https://wvminewars.org/events#calendar-97b7b579-e4e0-41e3-9537-a212e66237ed-event-84816ac7-395c-4638-81ce-c24e504092ae Support our work by becoming a Museum Member: ⁠https://wvminewars.org/join⁠ Learn more about the Museum: ⁠https://wvminewars.org/⁠

A Redneck Reclamation Ft. Sassa Wilkes

This month on Mine Wars Forum we’re joined by Huntington-based artist Sassa Wilkes for a conversation on Appalachian identity, narrative, and the creative process. Sassa is currently in the midst of a collaborative mural project, “SOLIDARITY,” which will feature key figures from the Mine Wars. We tell you how you can join in on the effort!   More about Sassa: https://iamsassa.com/ [https://iamsassa.com/] Join us for a May Day Redneck Reclamation: https://www.facebook.com/events/1586456905922285 [https://www.facebook.com/events/1586456905922285] Support our work by becoming a Museum Member: ⁠https://wvminewars.org/join⁠ [https://wvminewars.org/join] Learn more about the Museum: ⁠https://wvminewars.org/⁠ [https://wvminewars.org/]

We're Unionized! Ft. UMWA Local 1440

On our maiden voyage of Mine Wars Forum in the podcast sphere, we bring on members of UMWA Local 1440 to talk about the Museum staff’s recent unionization, the past and present state of the coal mining industry, the power of solidarity in unions and how the Museum’s origins date back to a protest to save Blair Mountain. We also discuss the importance of preserving the history of the West Virginia Mine Wars and how the Local has been instrumental in that legacy.  Contribute to that legacy yourself by supporting our work and becoming a Museum Member: https://wvminewars.org/join [https://wvminewars.org/join] Learn more about the Museum: https://wvminewars.org/ [https://wvminewars.org/]

Welcome to Mine Wars Forum

Mine Wars Forum is brought to you by the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum. It is a grassroots institution that educates and preserves a people's history of the Mine Wars, a bloody effort to unionize the southern coalfields of West Virginia at the turn of the 20th century. The podcast keeps that history and legacy alive with a range of guests who relate to Mine Wars history itself as well as the landscape of modern Appalachia. Subscribe so that you know when our first episode drops later this month! Learn more about the Museum: https://wvminewars.org/ Support our work: https://wvminewars.org/join Previous seasons: https://www.youtube.com/@wvminewars