John Henry, the “Steel-Driving Man,” is a legendary Black railroad worker celebrated in African American ballads and folklore. His story grew from the demanding work of drilling rock for railroad tunnels in the nineteenth century. In the best-known legend, he defeats a steam-powered drill in a contest of strength and skill, then dies from the effort. Although his precise identity and the contest’s location remain debated, John Henry endures as a symbol of Black labor, human dignity, determination, and the costs of industrial progress.

“John Henry: A Steel-Driving Man” is one of Sean Ramon Montague’s earliest original linocut designs, created circa 1989 during his student years in a relief block printing class in MICA’s original Dolphin Building. This work is part of the artistic foundation of Ethnicitees and its mission to preserve Black history and heritage through Cultural Wearables.