July 5, 1905 - January 19, 1990

Image from:

Myles Falls Horton. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 10:11, Jun 23, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/myles-horton-21385743.

Personal Data

Born:           July 5, 1905, Savannah, TN

Parents:       Elsie Falls and Perry Horton

Married:      Zilphia Mae Johnson, assisted rewriting lyrics, to the now anthem "We Shall Overcome"

Children:     2

Married:      Aimee Isgrig Horton, worked at Highlander

Died:           January 19. 1990, New Market, TN

Education

1928               Cumberland College

                       University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

1932               Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan, NY

Employment

Awards and Honors

1982                    Myles Horton for his work with Highlander was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize

1990                    Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for The Long Haul

Membership-Professional Organizations

1937                             Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO)

Publications

Professional Interest Areas

Literacy

Racial equality

Social justice

Major Contributions to Adult Education

1932           Horton founded Highlander Folk School, Monteagle, TN

Teaching peaceful demonstration techniques—Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr.were adult learners at Highlander.

Citizenship schools

School integration

Videos

YouTube Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_uubBxDB4A

• Robert Ben Garant-–nephew of Myles Horton--speaking in Knoxville, TN, to celebrate the Highlander Research and Education Center's 75+ years of working for social justice.

Interesting Facts

Myles Horton was a fascinating man, an advocate for civil rights through nonviolent measures. Through adult education, he worked/co-learned with people such as Rosa Parks to gain social justice. Horton devoted his life to the cause of civil rights and social justice. He overcame being named a communist and his school burned to the ground. The school was reopened. The Highlander Center was developed with literacy programs geared for blacks to become able to register to vote. The Highlander school was forced to close, as Horton was accused of selling beer/moonshine. He then opened the Highlander Research and Education Center in Knoxville; however, it has since moved to New Market, TN where is now exists.

Myles Horton's, first wife Ziphia is give credit for coauthoring the newer lyrics to an old religious song to become the famous "We Shall Overcome".

References

http://abstracts.asanet.org/footnotes/feb09/comm.html

Horton, M. (1966). An Interview with Myles Horton: 'It's a Miracle-I still don't believe it'. The Phi Delta Kappan, 47(9), 490-497.

Horton, M. & Freire, P. (1990). We make the road by walking. Bell, B. Gavanta, J., & Peters, J. (Eds.).

Horton, M. Kohol, J., & Kohol, H. (1997). The ong haul: An autobiography.  New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Horton, M. (2003). The Myles Horton reader: Education for social change.  Knoxville, TN: University Tennessee Press.

http://nlu.nl.edu/academics/cas/ace/resources/myleshorton.cfm

http://www.nl.edu/sitesearch/

Myles Falls Horton. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 10:11, Jun 23, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/myles-horton-21385743.