As an Appalachian African-American woman, Memphis Tennessee Garrison belonged to a category of persons who have been triply ignored by historians. The daughter of former slaves, she moved to Gary, West Virginia, at the age of eight and died at the age of 98 in Huntington, West Virginia. The coalfields of McDowell county were among the richest seams in the nation and Gary, home of U.S. Steel, was one of the largest mines in the country. As Garrison makes clear, the backbone of that workforce - those who laid the railroad tracks, manned the coke ovens, and dug the coal - were black miners....

As a black Appalachian woman, Memphis Tennessee Garrison belonged to a demographic category triply ignored by historians.
The daughter of former slaves, she moved to McDowell County, West Virginia, at an early age and died at ninety-eight in Huntington. The coalfields of McDowell County were among the richest seams in the nation. As Garrison makes clear, the backbone of the early mining work force those who laid the railroad tracks, manned the coke ovens, and dug the coal were black miners. These miners and their families created communities that became the centers of the struggle for...