Highlander Folk School: Education as Liberation
Highlander Folk School — “Education is for freedom”
“Education is what happens when people learn to solve their own problems. It’s not stuffing people with facts; it’s drawing out the wisdom that is already there.”
This quote is the heartbeat of Article XI – Lifelong Learning and Unlearning. Highlander operated without grades, degrees, or hierarchy; teachers and students were equals. Our Thursday School of Prophetic Citizenship follows that model.
We don’t just learn about power, we learn to exercise it collectively. Highlander trained Rosa Parks months before the Montgomery bus boycott, demonstrating that education is a direct political weapon for paradise.
In our context, Highlander reminds us that every Covenant Member is both teacher and student.
Connection to Our Charter
This resource directly informs Article XI’s commitment to participatory, non-hierarchical education. It demonstrates how learning communities can be sites of political transformation when they center the wisdom already present in oppressed communities.
Further Reading & Resources
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Highlander Research and Education Center
The modern continuation of Highlander’s work.
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You Got to Move (Documentary, 1980s)
A powerful film about Highlander and the civil rights movement.