Harlan County U.S.A.

Synopsis

This film documents the coal miners' strike against the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June, 1973. Eastover's refusal to sign a contract (when the miners joined with the United Mine Workers of America) led to the strike, which lasted more than a year and included violent battles between gun-toting company thugs/scabs and the picketing miners and their supportive women-folk. Director Barbara Kopple puts the strike into perspective by giving us some background on the historical plight of the miners and some history of the UMWA. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with New York Women in Film & Television in 2004.

Norman Yarborough

Self - Eastover Mining President

Houston Elmore

Self - UMW Organizer

Phil Sparks

Self - UMW Staff

Bessie Lou Cornett Parker

Self

Sudie Crusenberry

Self

Mary Lou Fergerson

Self

Basil Collins

Self - Mine Foreman

Florence Reece

Self

Lois Scott

Self