Where do activists get the courage to stand up against social, political or economic injustices, knowing that they could be vilified, fired, jailed or shot at? Rosa Parks, Julian Bond, Pete Seeger, Studs Terkel, Andrew Young and others throw light on this question as they discuss their struggles, childhoods, educations and formative influences. Nearly all of the 15 interviewees in this stirring, instructive chronicle of grassroots activism attended or were influenced by the Highlander Center in rural Tennessee, a school promoting social change and interracial understanding. Discussing issues ranging from union organization to self-censorship in the news media and the arts, these risk-takers give strong testimony to the conviction that people who directly experience a social problem have the wisdom and strength to find their own solutions. They also outline strategies to overcome the passivity of the average American. Wigginton, founder of Foxfire magazine, is a board member of Highlander.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Founded in Eastern Tennessee in 1932, the Highlander Folk School was a center for labor and civil rights activism in the South. Under constant suspicion and attack for alleged communist associations, Highlander was seized by the state of Tennessee in 1961, reopened in Knoxville, and finally moved permanently to New Market, Tennessee. Its principal programs today focus on environmental issues in Appalachia. This oral history compiled by Foxfire editor Wigginton collects the reminiscences of some early Highlander supporters: singer Pete Seeger, union organizer Ralph Helstein, civil rights activist Rosa Parks, educator Septima Clark, and others. Their stories, told in their own words, recount their experiences at Highlander and its influence on them. Some of these accounts have appeared elsewhere, but the combination of biography and Highlander history makes this volume a unique collection. Recommended for all libraries.
- Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., Ala.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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