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SOLIDARITY is a year-long, 100+ foot community mural honoring the West Virginia Mine Wars and the people who shaped them. Through portraiture, shared history, and collective making, this project invites people of all ages and skill levels to paint alongside one another and contribute stories, creativity, and care. Created by more than 1,000 West Virginians, SOLIDARITY is both an educational record and a living act of resistance that reclaims Appalachian identity as something rooted in dignity, solidarity, and the power of the Appalachian people.

Portrait 2: Frank Keeney

April 16, 2026

The second SOLIDARITY portrait is complete!

Community members came out to the April First Saturday Market at West Edge Factory to paint Frank Keeney. Frank was born in Cabin Creek, WV, and began a dangerous mining job at the age of TEN. He would later become President of District 17 United Mine Workers after helping Mother Jones organize the mine workers in Cabin Creek when no one else would.

“You have no recourse except to fight. The only way you can get your rights is with a high powered rifle.”
— Frank Keeney, 1921
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Learn more about Frank Keeney at the WV Mine Wars Museum site.

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