Appalachian Ghost: A Photographic Reimagining of the Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster

The Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster in Appalachia, West Virginia, exposed hundreds of migrant laborers to pure silica dust, leading to silicosis and nearly 800 deaths. Despite the severity, information about the disaster was suppressed, and little remains to mark the site. Author Raymond Thompson Jr. explores the tragedy through photographs and poetry, giving voice to the silenced and resisting revisionist narratives that ignore the sacrifices of African Americans.

Format: Hardback
Length: 150 pages
Publication date: 13 March 2024
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky

The Great Depression saw hundreds of migrant laborers, including many African Americans, flock to a rural area near Fayetteville, West Virginia, in search of steady work. Union Carbide Corporation was constructing a three-mile tunnel to divert the New River, and the workers were hired to help with the project. However, they were exposed to pure silica dust for five years in confined spaces with poor ventilation, no dust control measures, and limited use of personal breathing protection. Many of them developed silicosis, an incurable and debilitating lung disease that caused nearly 800 deaths, two-thirds of whom were Black. The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Labor classified silicosis as an occupational hazard, but information about its severity was largely suppressed. There is little to mark the site of the worst industrial accident to date in the United States, with only a small plaque at Hawks Nest State Park acknowledging the 109 victims. In Appalachian Ghost: A Photographic Reimagining of the Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster, author Raymond Thompson Jr. explores the possibilities of that tragedy by reviving the faces and spaces of Hawks Nest. He uses primary source materials to re-create the workers' experiences in photographs, recontextualizing archival images to present a counter-archive that positions the Black experience at Hawks Nest within the larger story of the American labor landscape. His photographs and poetry give voice to the silenced, resisting revisionist narratives that often ignore the sacrifices of African Americans and erase their instrumental role in American history.

Weight: 696g
Dimension: 224 x 266 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780813198996