The West Virginia Humanities Council presents, "Black Huntington and the Rise of the African American Middle Class," a Little Lecture by Kenzie New, Director of the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum, founded in 2015 in Matewan, and the project director of the Battle of Blair Mountain Centennial.rrThough nearly a century has passed since the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921, the pivotal history of the Mine Wars still receives little public attention. The West Virginia Mine Wars Museum has been a key part of the ongoing effort to preserve this essential chapter of American labor history. New’s lecture will discuss upcoming centennial commemorations, the grand opening of the Museum’s new facility in Matewan, and how the Mine Wars have been captured in our collective memory.