1939, Fletcher Martin, Mine Rescue (mural)
Firstly, let's address the setting of the mural and what is obvious to the eye. This mural depicts 3 men of color in a mine, one dead being carried by two men. Notice their calm faces and that only one of the two men is wearing a helmet. If you take time to think about this image you will likely be able to determine that all of the men are mine workers. In a situation in which a worker has died in his/ her line of work you would expect there to be a crowd of people, the higher ups, media, police, and paramedics/ doctors. Fletcher martin painted the real way things went down. This image shows not only that incidents in the mining industry were frequent but also how unsafe the environment was. The mend in the mural do not even seem faced by the death of a comrade. The pay for minning was very low in comparison to the risk they all faced every day. The interesting thing I found was that the people who worked at the coal mines could never afford to buy coal from that same company. I also read a lot about how people of color were at a constant disadvantage, getting stuck with a lot of the more dangerous jobs or the lowest paying jobs. I think this image helps to show the danger men were put in during the Great depression.
Working conditions in the coal mines were terrible. Constant danger, hard manual labor, no job security or fringe benefits and safety was not heard of.
- Albert D. DiVincenzo (primary source)