Earl Dotter collection of United Mine Workers of America 1972-1973 election campaign literature and photographs (Ms. 2010.016)

Biographical note

“Earl Dotter began his photographic career after completing his studies at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In 1968 he joined VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) and was assigned to the Cumberland Plateau Region of Tennessee. Over time, he was welcomed into the homes of coal mining families. He came to know and respect their culture and struggles -- a relationship that continues to this day. After his VISTA assignment concluded, he remained in the area to photograph the rank-and-file movement to reform the United Mine Workers Union, then under the corrupt leadership of Tony Boyle. In 1972 he was invited to join the staff of the reformers' newspaper, The Miner's Voice, and subsequently became the photographer for the campaign to unseat Boyle, called "Miners for Democracy." When the election effort proved successful, Dotter went to work for the UMWA Journal, where he remained until 1977. “The emphasis of the Journal was on improving miners' health and safety and the quality of life in their communities. His position enabled him to record the intimate aspects of daily life -- the dangers of mining underground, the hardships of living on abused land, and also the joys, dignity and culture that sustained coalmine families. It became a decade of intense creative development for him, during which he learned not just what to photograph, but how to create an image that would impact the viewer both visually and emotionally.” Excerpted from www.earldotter.com.