{"id":293097,"date":"2024-09-26T19:08:10","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T19:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/26\/russell-lee-photos-on-display-in-washington-dc-eight-decades-apart-pieces-of-history\/"},"modified":"2024-09-26T19:08:10","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T19:08:10","slug":"russell-lee-photos-on-display-in-washington-dc-eight-decades-apart-pieces-of-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/26\/russell-lee-photos-on-display-in-washington-dc-eight-decades-apart-pieces-of-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Russell Lee Photos on Display in Washington, DC, Eight Decades Apart \u2013 Pieces of History"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Today\u2019s post by Robert Pines, a public affairs specialist with Public and Media Communications in Washington, DC<\/em>, is inspired by a photo series he found while browsing the National Archives Catalog<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

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\u201cAll the essential characteristics of a coal-mining community\u2014except for the coal dust and the odors\u2014are portrayed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

These are the words used in promotional material<\/a> for a 1947 Library of Congress\u2013hosted exhibit of coal survey photographs titled Men and Coal<\/em>\u2014an early parallel to our own Power & Light: Russell Lee\u2019s Coal Survey<\/em><\/a> exhibit on display now at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Records of the 1947 exhibit, prepared by the Coal Mines Administration and presented in cooperation with the Department of the Interior, are held by the National Archives.<\/p>\n

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The entrance to the 1947 Men and Coal<\/em> exhibit at the Library of Congress. (National Archives Identifier 541531<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
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A sign for the 1947 Men and Coal<\/em> exhibit, billed as \u201ca photographic exhibition depicting the findings of a survey of the bituminous coal industry,\u201d at the Library of Congress. (National Archives Identifier 541531<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Just like in Power & Light<\/em>, the photographs of Russell Lee<\/a> featured prominently in Men and Coal<\/em>, as Lee was contracted to document a nationwide coal survey<\/a> (with photo supplement<\/a>) commissioned by the Truman administration in 1946. This survey came about as part of a strike-ending agreement negotiated between the Department of the Interior and the United Mine Workers of America.<\/p>\n

While the scope of the Library of Congress exhibit, which focused on the survey as a whole, was broader than that of our own, the two exhibits overlap. For example, the large image of the Sergent family<\/a> on their front porch in the center of a panel about \u201cThe Miner, His Home, and His Family\u201d in 1947 is the same one displayed at the entrance of our exhibit in 2024.<\/p>\n

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A display panel for \u201cThe Miner, His Home, and His Family\u201d in the 1947 Men and Coal<\/em> exhibit at the Library of Congress. (National Archives Identifier 541531<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
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The Sullivan family, whose family is featured in the exhibit, with curator Alice Kamps during a preview for Power & Light: Russell Lee\u2019s Coal Survey, <\/em>2024. (National Archives photograph by Robert Pines)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Just like in the National Archives exhibit, there was an emphasis on the homes and daily lives of coal miners and their families. Of note, the survey found a disparity in the health and safety conditions of the homes provided by coal companies. While 70 percent of the miners rented company-owned or -managed homes, the survey found only 35 percent of the homes fully adequate.<\/p>\n

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A display panel about \u201cInteriors and Housekeeping\u201d in the 1947 Men and Coa<\/em>l exhibit at the Library of Congress. (National Archives Identifier 541531<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
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A display panel about \u201cHousing,\u201d with a focus on exteriors, kitchens, water, and dangers, in Power & Light<\/em>. (National Archives photograph by Robert Pines)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Community is also a major focus of both exhibits, which depicted everything from children going to school to families eating at a restaurant. Also reflected are recreation activities important to the health of the miners and their families.<\/p>\n

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A display panel about \u201cOff the Job Living,\u201d focusing on group activities and personal pursuits, in the 1947 Men and Coal<\/em> exhibit at the Library of Congress. (National Archives Identifier 541531<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
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A section about \u201cCommunity\u201d in Power & Light<\/em>. (National Archives photograph by Robert Pines)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Of course, both exhibits also contain an unvarnished view of the challenges associated with coal mining, from backbreaking labor to sanitation, health concerns, and debilitating and mortal dangers. A quotation featured in Power & Light<\/em> from a widow by the name of Mrs. Leanore Miller<\/a> reads, \u201cThere\u2019s more widows and orphans in this holler than men at work,\u201d reflecting the risk faced by those who toiled in the mines.<\/p>\n

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A display panel for \u201cThe Miner, His Home, and His Family\u201d in the 1947 Men and Coal<\/em> exhibit at the Library of Congress. (National Archives Identifier 541531<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
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A section about \u201cLabor Struggles\u201d in Power & Light.<\/em> (National Archives photograph by Robert Pines)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Since these exhibits were developed in very different times, there are differences between the 1947 and 2024 exhibits as well. Notably, Power & Light<\/em> focuses on the diversity of the coal miners. The exhibit notes that \u201c[r]ecrutiment efforts and the geographic distribution of the mines resulted in significant numbers of Black, Japanese, Latino, Hungarian, Greek, Indigenous, and Italian American miners.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A section about \u201cDiversity\u201d in Power & Light.<\/em> (National Archives photograph by Robert Pines)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Today\u2019s exhibit also takes a more artistic approach to its display, with infographics, interactive light panels, and wall-sized imagery.<\/p>\n

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A number of illustrations in a display panel that provides the backstory for Power & Light<\/em>. (National Archives photograph by Robert Pines)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
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Backlit images adjacent to a full-height image in Power & Light.<\/em> National Archives photograph by Robert Pines)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Despite these differences, remarkable imagery of heartland communities not always depicted in the halls of Washington, DC, are a hallmark of both exhibits. No matter the decade from which they are examined, Lee\u2019s timeless photographs tell a powerful story about a group of Americans whose labor was essential to the growth of the United States.<\/p>\n

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A display panel showing \u201cThe Sources of Bituminous Coal\u201d in the 1947 Men and Coal <\/em>exhibit at the Library of Congress. (National Archives Identifier 541531<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
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A map showing the extent of Russell Lee\u2019s photos. He took photos in 13 of the 22 states covered by the coal survey; photos from 11 of the states are represented in Power & Light<\/em>. (National Archives photograph by Robert Pines)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

While Men and Coal<\/em> has long since passed, don\u2019t miss your opportunity to see Power & Light<\/em>. Alongside Russell Lee\u2019s photos are original records, including a handwritten note from President Truman<\/a> in which he wrote that a coal strike was called \u201cfor no good reason\u201d as well as a protest note attached to a coal bag sent to President Truman. As written in the exhibit <\/a>description<\/a>, experience \u201cthe story of laborers who helped build the nation, of a moment when the government took stock of their health and safety, and of a photographer who recognized their humanity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Power & Light: Russell Lee\u2019s Coal Survey<\/em> is on display now through December 7, 2025, in the Lawrence F. O\u2019Brien Gallery at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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