Elaine McMillion Sheldon, American
King Coal, 2023
This image, a still from Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s 2023 documentary King Coal, shows two children walking through a field surrounded by smoke. The Coal industry has greatly impacted the region of Appalachia, shaping the health and lives of millions of people that call this area of the country home. In Sheldon’s documentary, she sheds light on the fact that the industry digs deeper than just economics, presenting the full psychological and physical hold it has over the region, it’s people, and their customs. Coal has become so entrenched in their society that a picture as jarring as this one seems commonplace. Label by Jackson Schiminger