Florence Reece

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Florence Reece (born April 12, 1900, Sharps Chapel, Tennessee – died August 3, 1986, Knoxville, Tennessee) was an American social activist, poet, and folksong writer. The daughter and wife of coal miners, she is best known for the song, "Which Side Are You On?" written in 1931 during a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in which her husband, Sam Reece, was an organizer.

Pete Seeger, collecting labor union songs, learned "Which Side Are You On" in 1940. The following year, it was recorded by the Almanac Singers in a version that gained a wide audience.

Florence Reece appeared in the Academy Award-winning documentary film, Harlan County, USA, singing her anthem to rally the striking miners.

Florence and Sam Reece were married for 64 years, till his death from pneumoconiosis (black lung) in 1978. After a lifetime of speaking out on behalf of unions and social welfare issues, Florence Reece died of a heart attack in 1986 at the age of 86.

Contents 1 Bibliography 2 Discography 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Bibliography

• Against the Current: Poems and Stories (1981), Knoxville: private imprint

[edit] Discography

• Coal Mining Women (no date indicated), Rounder Records CD

[edit] References

• Biography of Florence Reece on the Appalachian Protest Songwriters Web page

[edit] External links

• "Which Side Are You On" lyrics, link to MIDI music