Highlander Research and Education Center

Highlander Research and Education Center, American activist organization (founded 1932) that seeks social, economic, and political equality. It became especially known for its involvement in the American civil rights movement during the 1950s. Its activities include organizing, leadership training, and youth development.

The organization began as Highlander Folk School, which was founded by Myles Horton (who remained one of its driving forces until his death in 1990), Don West, and Jim Dombrowski, among others, during the Great Depression. Its name reflected both its inspiration—the folk high schools of Scandinavia, which Horton had earlier visited—and the population the school initially sought to help—those living in Appalachia, sometimes referred to as “highlanders.” The school, which was located in Monteagle, Grundy county, Tennessee, offered classes that were social-educational activities. The folk culture of the county was expressed through the singing and fiddling of mountain songs, which—along with religious meetings—became part of the educational model, as did classes that were centred on residents’ problems. Many of those problems were work-related; Grundy county wages were among the lowest of Works Progress Administration (WPA) unions in the country. Highlander therefore became a centre for labour organizing, and the school worked with unions at the local level to develop leadership and aided workers in various strikes and sit-ins.

In the 1950s Highlander’s focus shifted to civil rights, for which it became most widely known. It began offering workshops to develop leaders in the movement, and notable attendees included Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. Later in the decade Septima Poinsette Clark, who worked at Highlander, was part of its voter-registration campaign, and she played a key role in Highlander’s creation of citizenship schools, which were designed to aid literacy and foster a sense of political empowerment within the black community. However, with its increasing role in the civil rights movement, the school faced greater scrutiny. Amid charges that it advocated communism, Highlander was investigated by the Tennessee legislature, and in 1961 its charter was revoked. The school’s property was seized by the state, and later that year Highlander moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, where it reopened as the Highlander Research and Education Center.

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Highlander subsequently returned its attention to the social issues of Appalachians. With the community’s increasing reliance on social-welfare programs, Highlander began to use its educational resources to increase people’s self-sufficiency. In 1971 it moved to New Market, Tennessee, and it later became involved in environmental issues and supported antiglobalization efforts. It also worked for immigration reform and was active in international peace initiatives.