Activists and Scholars

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Activists and Scholars

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Highlander Research and Education Center

• It was founded in 1932 as Highlander Folk School
  by Myles Horton, Don West and Jim Dombrowski.
• Originally located in Monteagle, its first
  mission was organizing southern workers. By the
  early 40s, this included both blacks and whites.

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Zilphia Horton
Miles Horton
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• Even before the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case,
  Highlander hosted workshops on civil rights.
• The Citizenship School Program taught basic
  literacy to people who could then pass the
  literacy test for voting.
• Southern political leaders began a campaign
  against Highlander.

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• Billboards like the following began to appear.

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• King had indeed participated in Highlander
  workshops, as did Rosa Parks.
• The idea for the Montgomery bus boycott was born
  at Highlander.

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Septima Clark and Rosa Parks at Highlander in the
late 1950s. Highlander Library
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• The House Un-American Activities Committee held
  hearings regarding the schools Communist ties.
• The charter was revoked in 1961 and the property
  sold at auction.
• Horton reopened under the present name in
  Knoxville, then moved to the present grounds in
  New Market.

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• Guy and Candy Carawan made music an essential
  part of Highlanders organizing.

Carawan page
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• In the seventies the mission of Highlander
  shifted to land use and community organizing in
  Appalachia.
• Horton retired in 1972, and Mike Clark became
  director.
• Under John Gaventa, Highlander played a key role
  in the Who Owns Appalachia? study.

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Current Highlander Programs
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Appalshop
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Helen Lewis at the 2001 ASA Conference
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On the left, former CVC faculty Wilburn Haydon.
On the right, ASU Appalachian Studies director
Patricia Beaver.
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Highlander Director Suzanne Pharr
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Donovan Cain, standing. Rich Kirby, seated.
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Wilburn Hayden left CVC when Dean Emmet Low
abolished the social work program while Helen
Lewis was on leave.
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Second from left, Shaunna Scott, Paul Salstrom,
Robert Weise
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Center, Alan Banks
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Phil Obermiller
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Gordon McKinney
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John Gaventa
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KY activists and scholars during the NCAA
Basketball Tournament