Ain’t Nothing but a Man - My quest to find the real John Henry
John Henry is one of West Virginia’s and the world’s greatest heroes, ranking with Paul Bunyon and Johnny Appleseed. However, in this case, as “Ain’t Nothing but a Man - My Quest to find the Real John Henry” shows, he was a real person. This landmark book by Scott Reynolds Nelson with Marc Aronson is a young adult version of Nelson’s award winning bestseller, “Steel Drivin’ Man - John Henry and the Untold Story of an American Legend.” This book, using many illustrations, shows how he dug through lots of records to find out that the real man was a Virginia convict who had indeed been sent north to work on building railroads in northern Virginia.
Hopefully every 8th grade class in West Virginia while studying our state’s history will read this amazing book. Unfortunately, it seems that few people know about either book. I just put in a call to acting director of the WV State Archives, Joe Gieger, to tell him about it and have loaned it to leading WV historian Dr. Fred Barkey.
NY Times review of “Steel Drivin’ Man.” NY Times review of “Ain’t Nothing But a Man”
Slideshow of seven amazing photos from “Nothing.”
During my 30 years in WV I have purchased every film I could on John Henry including the classic animated film from Pyramid Films, “The Legend of John Henry.” I indeed put John Henry on the WV Labor History Map that was published last year. Below are the films I have located about John Henry.
The actual prison where the real John Henry lived- State Penitentary, Richmond, Va.
John Henry- Shelley Duval’s Tall Tales & Legends
2005 54 mins. Disney
Danny Glover plays John Henry, a former slave now freeman, who builds the railroad in West Virginia in the 1860s.. When his boss threatens to fire all the steel drivers and replace them with a steam drill, Henry musters the muscle to out-drive the machine in a rigorous contest of strength against steel. (”No steel machine will take away the jobs of the working people,” Henry vows.) Tom Hulce plays Quinn, an Irish indentured servant born and raised on the same plantation as John Henry.It is also a love story, telling of Henry’s ever-growing attraction to Polly Ann (Lynn Whitfield), whom he finally wins through charm and perseverance. Access: Amazon, etc.
JOHN HENRY- AMERICAN LEGENDS
2002 15 mins. ( 
Disney
Disney animators traveled to West Virginia to do research for their new animation on John Henry. Working with WV animator Jamie Cope and the Division of Culture & History, they used the motif of the annual quilt show to create a new vision. Alfre Woodward narrates the tale. Disney classic animation about Johnny Appleseed (1948), (Casey Jones) The Brave Engineer (1950), and Paul Bunyan (19 are included. Introduced by James Earl Jones. From the Wikipedia entry on John Henry - In 2000, Walt Disney Feature Animation completed a short subject film based on John Henry, produced at the satellite studio in Orlando, Florida, directed by Mark Henn, written by Shirley Pierce and produced by Steven Keller. Keller, Henn and Pierce worked collaboratively with the Grammy Award winning group “The Sounds of Blackness” to create all new songs for the film. The film also featured the voice talent of actress Alfre Woodard. “John Henry” created a strong positive response around the animation community, won several film festivals both domestically and abroad, and was one of seven finalists for the 2001 academy awards in its category.However, Disney was uneasy about releasing a short about a black folk hero created by an almost completely white production team, and aside from film festivals, industry screenings and limited theater screenings required for academy award consideration, a slightly cut down version of John Henry was released only as part of a video compilation entitled Disney American Legends in 2001. This became the nation’s top-selling children’s video for several weeks upon its release. Disney Educational Productions has also made the film available as a stand-alone product for video use in schools. The film is often shown on The Disney Channel, particularly during Black History Month..Access: Amazon, etc.
LEGEND OF JOHN HENRY
11 M. 1974 Pyramid/Bosustow
Roberta Flack provides the musical accompaniment for this film about the folk hero. Features John Henry’s famous race against the steam drill at the Big Bend Tunnel in Summers County. This movie has won several international awards and is recommended for children by Learning Magazine and the American Library Association. Access: WVLC
