Youthful Dimensions of Adult Education: Child and Youth Work at the Highlander Folk School, 1938–1961

• In Event: Youth and Education: Intersections of Identity, Resistance, and Engagement in the 20th Century

Abstract

A community-based adult education center in Tennessee founded on principles of democratic education, the Highlander Center has long been a gathering place for labor and racial justice movement workers. While literature emphasizes Highlander’s adult-focused activities, Highlander also facilitated programs for children and youth to nurture relationships with surrounding Appalachian communities and build capacity of youth to shape change. This paper enriches scholarship on youth political education in the 20th century by exploring how Highlander’s theory of change was expressed through child and youth work. Highlander’s nursery schools, junior union camps, and multiracial summer camps from 1938 to 1961 constituted an effort in community care and sustainable movement-building, offering a compelling case for adult education as an intergenerational, community-building practice.

Author

• Briana Bivens, University of Florida