Salt of the Earth

Streaming video - 1954

Banned at the time of its initial release and made by blacklisted filmmakers, this bold, radical film tells the story of Mexican-American workers who call a strike over the unsafe work conditions and unequal wages they receive in comparison to their white co-workers at a Zinc mine in New Mexico.Ramon Quintero (Juan Chacon) organizes the strike but is shown to be a hypocrite, treating his pregnant wife (Rosaura Revueltas) with similar unfairness. However, after an injunction keeps the men from their protest, the gender roles are reversed. As the women protest at the picket lines while the men stay at home, SALT OF THE EARTH makes glaringly clear the vital importance of women in the fight against inequality on intersecting fronts.