Most residents havent been so lucky. Once the miners start to strike, the owners of the mine respond by hiring scabs to fill the jobs of the regular employees. A UMWA organizer who welcomed us displayed a revolver on the dashboard of his car. In 1959 when Lewis retired, the union had been reduced to 180,000 members, and the southern coalfields, Harlan included, were non-union once again. Which Side Are You On? was written in the immediate aftershock of a midnight raid on Reeces home and her children by Harlan County Sheriff J.H. Benjamin Harlan McClellan passed away on 12 January, 1932 in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, USA. On breaks, he came home to see his fiance, Lauren Blair. Editor. Which side are you on? "They wanted to knock us out because they didn't want a record of what was happening." Synopsis. Coal miners strike against the company that exploits them and the union that doesn't always represent their interests. "[12], In a 2015 interview with Variety, Kopple was asked if she was in danger while working on this film. Once the union finally elected Arnold . The pay was good, and he was able to find work easily in one mine or another. . Thank God for them; thank God they're on our side. Harlan | Kentucky, United States | Britannica Id like to see the next president go in on coal, he says. Though it's hard to follow with all of the ideas of the Kentucy-Coal-Miners, it is extremely easy to follow their cause. Give $10 a month or more and get our "Fight the Boss, Build the Union" T-shirt. Whenever it is that death comes for him, Chester knows where he will be. A 73-year-old Florence Reece attended and led a rousing, emotional rendition of Which Side Are You On?. See production, box office & company info, Self - Pres., Eastover Mining Co. (Owned by Duke Power), Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film. For example, when the strike breakers and others hired by the company show up early in the filmthe strikers call them \"gun thugs\"the company people tried to keep their guns hidden from the camera. Environmental groups say other factors, such as the abundance of cheap natural gas, are behind coals slump. Microfilmed records can be found online at Kentucky, Probate Records, 1792-1977 for Caldwell, Henry, Hickman, Russell and Trimble counties. A federal bankruptcy judge in Charleston, West Virginia, is currently hearing arguments to decide on the fate of the blockaded coal in Harlan county, with Blackjewel arguing the coal was . Of course, it would be remiss to talk about womens roles in this film without also addressing that the film was directed by a woman, Barbara Kopple. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_County,_USAHarlan County, USA is a 1976 American documentary film covering the "Brookside Strike", a 1973 effort of 180 . Coming Soon. Stay up-to-date on all the latest Rotten Tomatoes news! Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. As the strike dragged on for nearly a year, both sides eventually openly brandished their weapons. A couple of moments, actually. Benjamin Harlan McClellan 1880-1932 - Ancestry The strike, which lasts more than a year, frequently becomes violent, with guns produced on both sides, and one miner is even killed in a conflict. And the strikes eventual success [which comes only after a man has been shot and killed] is in large part owed to the womens perseverance. Arm's length is not director Barbara Kopple's style; she puts us right alongside these Kentucky miners and their families, striking Harlan County's . CEO Don Blankenship was convicted of willfully violating safety standards and spent a year in prison. The film crew, working for over a year, was able to capture stark images of miners covered in coal dust, miners suffering the diseases that come with coal mining, scenes of violence that are shocking in their reality and nearness, and the overall spirit of the town. In the documentary, his mother can be seen breaking down during his funeral, screaming and being carried away by male attendees. Harlan Country, U.S.A. Cause we cant have a picket line at the bridge with a .30-caliber machine gun shooting at you. Later, after he was convicted of giving $20,000 to another union executive council member to hire the killers of Yablonski and his wife, Boyle appears frail, sickly and using a wheelchair; he was carried up the courthouse steps to face sentencing. When she confronted a striker who told people not to talk to her, she was told: "Girl, you gotta tell people here what you're doin'."[3]. This tactic is successful in scaring the men off, but not the women. Some, like Danny Stewart, an unemployed fifth-generation miner, are placing their hopes in a Donald Trump presidency to revive the moribund coal industry. Early in the film Boyle is shown in good health. Rumors flew that a "hippie crew from New York" was sniffing around the strike. Without womens contributions, it is unlikely that the strike would have been successful. Harlan, Kentucky - Wikipedia But Harlan is also an emblem of the hard times that have fallen on coal country. Meanwhile, coal continues to fade from the energy landscape. This is a documentary talking about the mine strikes of Harlan County, Kentucky in 1973 where the laborers and . They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The most shocking moment in Harlan County, U.S.A. (1976) looks at first like an abstract painting. Ill shed no tears. Married Diana Jones on They were married Nov. 5, 1973. In 1932, only in anthracite country had the union held its own. Which side were they on? Watch Harlan County USA | Prime Video - amazon.com 'Harlan County U.S.A.' could stand a little more tunnel vision "Harlan County U.S.A." took 26-year-old upstart Barbara Kopple about four years to finish. Bobby Simpson, 79, has been blind for more than a half-century, but still managed to shovel coal.
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