As we approach the end of 2008, a time of tremendous hope and serious challenges, we hope you will give generously to support Highlander’s critical work with grassroots activists and organizations in Appalachia and the South.

• Watch Ben Garant, great-nephew of Highlander’s founder Myles Horton and co-creator, writer and star of Comedy Central’s hit show Reno 911!, talk about his memories of his “Uncle Myles” and explain why he supports Highlander.

• Read our Director Pam McMichael’s year-end letter and update on Highlander’s 2008 work and 2009 plans.

As Pam says in her letter, Highlander is “always on the cutting edge, . . . bringing people together, strengthening grassroots movements, and building skills, relationships, hope and inspiration.”

To contribute, click the button above, or send your contribution to Highlander, 1959 Highlander Way, New Market, TN, 37820. All gifts are tax deductible to full extent allowed by law.

On November 22, 2008, nearly 100 Highlander supporters gathered in downtown Knoxville for a house party featuring special guest Robert Ben Garant, great-nephew of Highlander’s founder Myles Horton and the co-creator, writer and star of Comedy Central’s hit show, Reno 911!.

At the party, Ben talked about his memories of his great-uncle Myles, and connected these memories with Highlander’s ongoing work for social and economic justice. He noted, for example, that Myles loved gardening and that when he traveled he went to great lengths to bring back seeds for his garden, even seeds that technically should not have been brought into the country.

Later, remembering that the state of Tennessee had closed Highlander briefly during the early 1960s because of its work for civil rights, Ben cited Myles’s comment, “You can padlock a building but you can’t padlock an idea.” And he pointed out that the idea of Highlander

has gone all over the world . . . to places where they didn’t want this idea, where they really didn’t want people standing up for themselves and learning from each other and learning that they weren’t alone.

Pulling these two strands together, Ben concluded that the key to Myles’ work was “spreading seeds,” and that Highlander is one seed that is still growing and spreading.

[Myles's] life was sneaking seeds into places where maybe they didn’t want those seeds to go, and letting those seeds grow. . . . And it’s wonderful to know that the seed isn’t a museum, it’s still growing. And . . . now it’s involved in things that in 1932 in Monteagle Tennessee they probably hadn’t even heard of, and that’s a wonderful, wonderful thing.

We deeply appreciate Ben’s support, the support of the host committee, and everyone who attended the party. It was a great night for Highlander in Knoxville!

To watch a video of Ben’s talk at the party, click the image above, or go here. Additional information about Ben and the party is available here.

Two weeks after the election, 30 people from 24 organizations across the South came together at Highlander in a gathering called Southern Strategies: The Economy and The Elections. This was the third strategy session convened in the last fifteen months by Highlander with collaborative partners. Its purpose was to:

• learn from each other’s analysis of the moment;
• understand the impact of this moment for the people we work with, our organizations and the movement;
• recognize and maximize organizing opportunities to move forward;
• clarify shared interests and prioritize steps for collaborative education and action.

Participants in Southern Strategies III. More pictures from the gathering are available here.

For one shared action, the group decided to create a series of Southern Manifestos that would serve as organizing and movement building tools with our organizations and our communities, contribute to broader understanding of the region, and create avenues for collaborative action to address the needs of our region, particularly the structural reasons that have led to long-standing inequities.

Dividing into committees of Coordinated Action, Social Movement Convergence, Communication Infrastructure, Consciousness Raising, and Resources & Economic Sustainability, people created 6-month action plans toward the shared goal of the Southern Manifestos as well as developed other mid- and long-range goals for their committees.

Those attending Southern Strategies III came from the following groups: Alternate ROOTs; Appalshop; Asociacion Latina; Center for Rural Strategies; Colectivo Flatlander; Grassroots Global Justice Alliance; Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama; Highlander Center; Mid South Peace and Justice Center; Mississippi Worker’s Center for Human Rights; MLK Community Center of Parks and Recreation; Oasis Center; OUR Voice; Oasis Center; Power U; Project South; SC Progressive Network; Southerners on New Ground; Southeast Regional Economic Justice Network; Southern Coalition for Justice; Southern Echo; Southern Energy Network; Student Environmental Action Coalition; TN Alliance for Progress.

The planning and facilitation team consisted of representatives from Appalshop, Colectivo Flatlander, Grassroots Global Justice, Highlander Center, and Southern Energy Network.

Pictures from the gathering are available here. For a report on the first two sessions, click here.

On October 10-12, 2008, Highlander held the third session of THREADS, our new multi-racial, intergenerational leadership and organizer training institute, which includes participants from organizations in eight states: Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Participants in the third THREADS workshop. For more pictures, click here.

This session focused on organizing 101 and included brief introductions to Highlander’s core methodologies: popular education, participatory research, cultural organizing, and multilingual capacity building. Participants also engaged in the interactive “Hungry Woman” exercise, which enabled them to explore the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches to social change, including service provision, legal advocacy, economic development, electoral campaigns, and community organizing.

In addition to these activities, participants met in small groups around specific organizing issues, talked about the impact of the election on their work, and discussed plans for the next two sessions, which will be held in participant communities.

The Sunday following the session, the team from western North Carolina team held a march in Asheville and a rally in Hendersonville to protest recent workplace raids by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and the arrest of over 100 immigrants by local police operating under a “287g” agreement with ICE that allows them to enforce immigration laws. Over 200 people attended these events, highlighting the impact of these draconian enforcement policies on the immigrant community.

During the THREADS workshop, other participants supported the North Carolina team by helping them make signs, discussing experiences and strategies, and offering moral support. Following the workshop, several participants and three members of the Highlander staff also went to the rally in Hendersonville. After the event, one of the organizers commented that “I was able to do this because of what I have learned at THREADS and Highlander.”

For more information about THREADS, click here.

Highlander is pleased to announce we are partnering with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) Academy for Leadership and Action, a high level leadership development and skills building program which is part of their annual Creating Change Conference, held in Denver, Jan 28-Feb 1, 2009.

Highlander is excited about bringing its training expertise to the Academy for Leadership and Action because, along with the more than 30 courses offered, it’s an important opportunity to further build the sustainability, leadership and skills of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and allied activists and organizations.

Highlander Director Pam McMichael and Multilingual Capacity Building Coordinator Roberto Tijerina will facilitate three trainings at the Academy for Leadership and Action, including:

• From Stories to Action: What in the World is Popular Education
• ¿Qué Dijeron?/What Did They Say?  Creating Multilingual Spaces
• Show What You Know: Cultural Work as an Organizing Tool

As the largest and most diverse strategic gathering of the LGBT movement in the country, Creating Change is an important opportunity to hone organizing skills as well as connect LGBT issues to the broader work for peace, and racial and economic justice. Attending is particularly imperative this year because of the unprecedented opportunity to address issues most important to justice and fairness for all.

For more about Creating Change and to get full details about registering for the conference and Academy for Leadership and Action check out: www.creatingchange.org.