Monday, April 03, 2006

Coal Miner Photo Exhibit

The AFL-CIO Now reports on a new photo exhibit produced by award winning labor photographer Earl Dotter.

Photo journalist Earl Dotter, known for his award-winning work documenting the lives of working Americans, joined with the Appalachian Institute at Wheeling (W.Va.) Jesuit University, to produce a powerful new photo exhibit, "Our Future in Retrospect--Coal Miner Health in Appalachia." The exhibit is dedicated to the 21 coal miners killed on the job in West Virginia, Kentucky, Utah and Maryland this year. Click here for a list of those who perished.

The exhibit combines Dotter's present-day look at health and safety issues in America's coalfields with Russell W. Lee's 1946 documentary photography on the gamut of issues in coal communities: mining fatalities, miners' lung health, coalfield clinics, nutrition, water quality and housing.

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The exhibit is on display at the AFL-CIO building in Washington, D.C., 815 16th St., N.W., from April 3 through May 1. It is open to the public 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday, including April 28, Workers Memorial Day.