Jerry Coleman, president of the Kanawha County Black Lung Association, passed away on Aug. 24, one day before his 72nd birthday. Jerry was a family man, a friend and a coal miner. After 37 years of mining coal, Jerry developed black lung disease and had to quit working in his early 50s. He then became involved in the Black Lung Association, quickly becoming an important leader, not only of his local chapter, but within the National Black Lung Association as well. 

Several Appalachian Voices staff got to know Jerry starting around 2019, working on grassroots campaigns to protect coal miners from excessive levels of respirable silica and to ensure that the coal industry provides funding for the healthcare and disability benefits that miners require once they become disabled with black lung. On both counts, these campaigns were successful, thanks in no small part to Jerry Coleman. 

Jerry had a confident yet humble presence. He spoke with clarity and conviction about his plight as a miner with black lung and his motivation to spare younger generations of miners from what he himself was going through. Jerry was a true servant-leader, committed to his fellow miners, to his family and to his community. 

We at Appalachian Voices are honored to have known Jerry Coleman, and we are saddened by his death. To honor Jerry’s memory, and to sustain the movement he helped to build, his family asks that in lieu of flowers, mourners send a donation to the Kanawha County Black Lung Association. Checks can be made out to the Kanawha County Black Lung Association, and mailed to 2273 Fields Creek Road, Winifrede, WV 25214.