Free May Day Screening Of Salt Of The Earth

On Thursday May 1st the Thurston – Lewis – Mason Central Labor Council will present a free screening of the classic Labor film Salt Of The Earth at the Capitol Theater (206 5th Avenue SE Olympia, WA 98501.)

Salt Of The Earth depicts the attempt of a New Mexican mining company to break a bitter union strike against unsafe working conditions. The film is based on a true story about a 1950-1952 strike against the Empire Zinc Mine in Silver City, New Mexico. Released during the height of the McCarthy era, the film was suppressed for decades – but it has since been acknowledged as “one of the most important and controversial films in American cinema history” and chosen by the Library of Congress to be one of 100 films to be preserved for posterity.

Doors for the screening will open at 6:00 PM, and the film will start at 7:00 PM. There will be post-film discussion with Migrant Education Project Nurse Cecilia Pérez, union organizer Jorge Torres, Professor Peter Bohmer, historian Dr. Natasha Varner and focused on the issues raised by the film and local immigrant justice issues.