No Neutrals in Harlan County
Mineworkers and their families in Harlan County, Kentucky, have blockaded the railroad tracks of a deadbeat employer. It’s a reminder of the county’s heroic history of struggle and solidarity.
Victory photo after the miners of the Highsplint mine voted to join the UMWA. (Robert Gumpert / Appalshop Archive)
They say in Harlan County, there are no neutrals there
You’ll either be a union man or a thug for J. H. Blair
Which side are you on?
The song “Which Side Are You On?” became the anthem of a reborn United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) union in the 1930s, then an anthem for all workers — a reflection of working-class consciousness in the turbulent New Deal years.
Florence Reece wrote the song. She was the daughter of a Kentucky coal miner and married to Sam Reece, an organizer for the radical National Miners Union, then embroiled in the bloody 1931 Harlan County War.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.