CLUW - Western Virginia Chapter

05/25/2026

💀 STOP BLACK LUNG MURDER 💀
Undated fluorescent paper sticker, union printed, from our collection.

Throughout our 2026 season, on exhibit in our Solidarity Gallery, don’t miss “Entirely Preventable: The Toxic Legacy of Silica Dust from Hawks Nest to Black Lung, a powerful show of photography by Stacy Kranitz (), Raymond Thompson Jr. (), and Earl Dotter. 📷

📢 Public Event June 20 @ 3pm in Matewan featuring speakers and more! Check out wvminewars.org/events for more info 📢

05/25/2026

Memorial Day is a solemn reminder that many of America’s heroes never made it home. Among them were countless union members — workers, tradesmen, miners, factory employees, teachers, firefighters, and public servants — who answered the call to serve their country during times of war.

These men and women came from union halls and working-class communities across America. They put their lives on hold to defend the freedoms we enjoy today. All of them gave some, but many made the ultimate sacrifice. They never returned to their jobs, their families, or the communities they worked so hard to support.

Their legacy lives on through the values they believed in: brotherhood, sacrifice, hard work, and standing together in difficult times. This Memorial Day, we honor those union members who gave all for our nation and remember that the freedoms we cherish were secured by ordinary working Americans who showed extraordinary courage.

We will never forget their service, their sacrifice, and the lives they gave for future generations.

05/21/2026

Join us on June 20 as we pay tribute to those who have lost their lives to silicosis and black lung and uplift the people who have fought for miners’ occupational safety and health.

We will also be hosting live music and roundtables with speakers who have been a part of the modern movement for black lung protection, benefits, and advocacy. This will be a part of a reception for the newest exhibit in our Solidarity Gallery, Entirely Preventable: The Toxic Legacy of Silica Dust from Hawks Nest to Black Lung.

Curated by Stacy Kranitz, Entirely Preventable explores the invisible but deadly legacy of silica dust exposure through the work of three artists (Kranitz, Earl Dotter, and Raymond Thompson Jr). Set against the backdrop of historic and contemporary labor activism, the exhibit traces a long arc of resistance from the 1930s Hawk’s Nest Tunnel disaster to the fight to implement federal silica regulations today. This exhibition is both a remembrance and a call to action. ⛏️

05/19/2026

05/19/2026

Come share stories and ideas with us at our next Commemorate Workshop! This one is in-person on June 27th in Cleveland, Virginia (Russell County). Apply to participate by June 5th.

More information here: https://www.moremountainstories.org/commemorate-workshops
Application here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdoNcAplNb1_rJNnJT9tof4jn9UxzVNwYG97889no8judIlBA/viewform

Appalachian Studies at Virginia Tech Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Appalachian Voices Southwest Virginia Conservation Initiative Mellon Foundation

05/18/2026

Great night hope to see you there next year

05/17/2026

The Bread & Roses Heritage Festival in Lawrence, Massachusetts is once again partnering with young artists from Movement City and Lawrence CommunityWorks to create this year’s festival logo — continuing a tradition that connects labor history, art and community creativity. This y

05/16/2026

05/16/2026