Building on the momentum of the Battle of Blair Mountain Centennial, the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum is proud to announce a new public monument project! Although mountain-side machine gun bunkers, grave markers, and remnants of company towns remain, the footprints of the Miners’ 50-Mile March of armed unionist coal miners that led to the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain, its stories, and its contribution to American history are virtually invisible today. Courage in the Hollers: Mapping the Miners’ Struggle for a Union will memorialize and celebrate the collective efforts of the multiethnic, multiracial working-class army that stood up against oppression, and left an indelible mark on American history.

The West Virginia Mine Wars Museum is proud to be one of ten organizations working in Monument Lab’s Re:Generation project. This cohort was selected through a far-reaching open call conducted by Monument Lab in 2021, which brought in hundreds of applications from every state, most territories, and numerous tribal communities. 

The first phase of Courage, which began this winter, focuses on building physical monuments in the communities of Marmet and Clothier, West Virginia, often considered the beginning and end points of the Miners’ March. Working in close collaboration with both communities, these monuments are being co-created to tell the people’s story in an inclusive, truthful, and respectful way. 

Re:Generation is a nationwide participatory public art and history project organized by Monument Lab, and supported by the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project. The project elevates people shaping the next generation of monuments reckoning with and reimagining public memory.

Click on the map above to read more about all of the incredible projects in the Re:Generation cohort!

Our project partners in Courage include the International United Mine Workers of America, UMWA Local 1440, the West Virginia Humanities Council, and the Berea College Appalachian Center. 

Team members include: Mackenzie New Walker + Kirstyn Ooten + Shaun Slifer (West Virginia Mine Wars Museum), Erin Bates + Mike Johnson + Brian Lacy + Terry Steele (UMWA) Bobby Starnes (Berea College & West Virginia Mine Wars Museum), and Kyle Warmack (West Virginia Humanities Council).