Highlander Research and Education Center

Highlander Research and Education Center
Name	Highlander Research and Education Center
Founded	1932
Founder	Myles Horton, Don West
Location	New Market, Tennessee
Focus	Popular education, social justice

Highlander Research and Education Center. Founded in 1932 by Myles Horton and Don West, it is a renowned folk school and catalyst for social justice organizing across the Southern United States. Rooted in the principles of popular education, its methodology empowers communities to analyze their own problems and develop strategies for change. Throughout its history, it has served as a critical meeting ground and training center for leaders of major labor and civil rights movements.

History and founding

The center was established in 1932 in Monteagle, Tennessee, by educators Myles Horton and Don West, inspired by the Danish folk school model and Horton's studies with Reinhold Niebuhr at Union Theological Seminary. Its original mission focused on educating impoverished adults in the Appalachian region during the Great Depression, soon expanding to support the burgeoning CIO and labor struggles in the South. In 1937, it was chartered as the Highlander Folk School, a name it retained until 1961. The school faced persistent opposition from segregationist politicians like James O. Eastland and was investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee before its original charter was forcibly revoked by the State of Tennessee in 1961, leading to a relocation and rebirth under its current name.

Educational philosophy and methodology

Highlander's approach is fundamentally based on the theory of popular education, most famously articulated by Paulo Freire, though developed independently by Horton. This philosophy rejects traditional, top-down teaching, instead creating a "workshop" space where participants, often from marginalized communities, share experiences to build collective knowledge. The method emphasizes "learning by doing," using cultural organizing tools like music, storytelling, and theater of the oppressed. The goal is not to provide answers but to facilitate a process where people develop their own analysis of issues like economic inequality or institutional racism and plan direct action.

Role in social movements

The center has been a strategic nexus for multiple generations of social movements. In the 1930s and 1940s, it trained union organizers for the Textile Workers Union of America and supported the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union. Its most profound impact came during the civil rights movement, where it hosted legendary Citizenship Schools conceived by Septima Clark, teaching literacy to enable African Americans to pass voter registration tests. It was here that Rosa Parks attended a workshop months before the Montgomery bus boycott, and where Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, and other SNCC leaders strategized. Later, it engaged with the Appalachian Land Ownership Study, the environmental justice movement, and contemporary struggles for immigrant rights and LGBT rights.

Key programs and initiatives

Core initiatives have evolved with movement needs but consistently focus on leadership development. The historic Citizenship Schools program, later expanded through the SCLC, is a landmark example. Other significant programs have included the Appalachian Self-Education Program, which addressed strip mining and land ownership, and the Southern Empowerment Project. More recent work includes the Economics and Governance program, analyzing the impacts of globalization, and the Cultural Organizing program, which supports activists using arts-based strategies. Its Residential Learning Center continues to host multi-day workshops on issues from police accountability to workers' rights.

Notable participants and influence

An extraordinary array of movement leaders have been part of Highlander's community. Beyond Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Septima Clark, participants included Ella Baker, Pete Seeger, who adapted and popularized the anthem "We Shall Overcome" there, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Bernice Johnson Reagon of the Freedom Singers and later Sweet Honey in the Rock. Influential scholars like Paulo Freire and bell hooks have engaged with its work. The center's model has inspired similar institutions globally, including the Moscow School of Civic Education and various social movement training centers across Latin America.

Facilities and location

Originally located in Monteagle, Tennessee, on the Cumberland Plateau, the center was forced to move after the 1961 revocation of its charter. It operated briefly in Knoxville, Tennessee, before purchasing a former farm in New Market, Tennessee, in 1971, where its main campus remains today. The New Market facility includes a modern library and archives, meeting spaces, dormitories, and a large dining hall, all set on a rural property that fosters an intensive, retreat-like environment for workshops. The Highlander Archives, housed on-site, contain an extensive collection of materials related to Southern social movements.

Category:Social justice organizations Category:Educational organizations based in the United States Category:Organizations based in Tennessee