Pinthouse Pizza
Mr. Lee Goes to Washington
RECEIVED Fri., Sept. 27, 2024
Dear Editor,
Some years ago one of Austin's elementary schools changed its name from Robert E. Lee to Russell Lee, a long overdue and widely supported decision spearheaded by the community. [See "Lee Elementary Still Lee Elementary," Daily News, May 26, 2016.]
Friends of Russell Lee will be interested to learn that some of Mr. Lee's historic photos are currently on exhibit at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Titled "Power and Light: Russell Lee's Coal Survey," they document the horrific conditions under which fellow Americans were forced to work and live. They are an important visual record of the life of coal miners, their exploitation and poverty, and a testimony to American labor, the role of unions and the fight for more humane conditions in the not-too-distant past.
A fitting tribute to Mr. Lee who died in Austin in 1986, and a wise choice by the Lee community.
Some years ago one of Austin's elementary schools changed its name from Robert E. Lee to Russell Lee, a long overdue and widely supported decision spearheaded by the community. [See "Lee Elementary Still Lee Elementary," Daily News, May 26, 2016.]
Friends of Russell Lee will be interested to learn that some of Mr. Lee's historic photos are currently on exhibit at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Titled "Power and Light: Russell Lee's Coal Survey," they document the horrific conditions under which fellow Americans were forced to work and live. They are an important visual record of the life of coal miners, their exploitation and poverty, and a testimony to American labor, the role of unions and the fight for more humane conditions in the not-too-distant past.
A fitting tribute to Mr. Lee who died in Austin in 1986, and a wise choice by the Lee community.
Valerie Bauhofer