At this time of year when varied faiths and traditions celebrate different seasons which all share peace and good will, Highlander is grateful to be in this work with you and wishes you and yours a new year of joy, peace, and a world closer to justice.

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On November 29-December 1, members of the Highlander staff participated in the second annual conference of the Southeast Immigrant Rights Network, which is made up of statewide immigrant-rights groups in the region.

The goals of the Network include building the capacity of immigrant groups throughout the southeast, facilitating cooperation and communication among these groups, and developing regional strategies to advance just immigration reform.

The conference was attended by 80 representatives from immigrant groups across the region, including the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, the Kentucky Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Mississippi Immigrant's Rights Alliance, the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, and the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

At the conference, participants attended a variety of skills-building workshops and issue strategy sessions. In order to coordinate their ongoing work together, they also formed working groups on Alliance Building, Civic Engagement, Immigration Reform, State Anti-immigrant Initiatives, and Local Law Enforcement and Immigration.

Highlander staff member Monica Hernandez and intern Isaias Guerrrero facilitated a session on leadership development. Monica also joined the Network steering committee and the working group on Alliance Building.

On November 16-18, Highlander staff member Roberto Tijerina provided interpretation for the 18th annual Vigil to Close the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia. Several thousand protestors attended the vigil, making it one of the largest anti-militarization gatherings in the United States this year.

The School of the Americas (SOA) was founded in 1946 and renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation in 2001. It trains military personnel from Latin American countries in subjects like counter-insurgency, military intelligence and counter-narcotics operations. SOA graduates have been linked to state-supported murder and torture, including the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980, the El Mozote massacre of over 900 men, women and children in 1981, and hundreds of other human rights abuses.

The Vigil was organized by SOA Watch, which seeks to close the School of the Americas through nonviolent protest, media outreach, and legislative work. For more information about SOA Watch and the Vigil, visit www.soaw.org.

Participants in the Knoxville Justice School for TIRRC youth.

Since early 2007, Highlander has been coordinating local "Justice School" sessions for organizers, members, and leaders of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC). The sessions combine nuts-and-bolts training on organizing and leadership skills with broader discussions of social, political, and economic issues related to immigration and the immigrant rights movement.

In March-June, fifteen TIRRC members participated in Justice School sessions in Nashville. Sessions are currently underway for TIRRC members in East Tennessee. To see pictures from a recent Justice School in Knoxville for young people active in TIRRC's East Tennessee chapter, visit our online Photo Gallery here.

The next application deadline for the We Shall Overcome Fund is January 15, 2008.

The We Shall Overcome Fund supports projects by individuals and/or organizations that use arts, culture and community activism to organize for social, economic, and political justice to the benefit of African American communities. African-Americans must be included in the planning and implementation of the project.

Requests are accepted from the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

The maximum grant amount is $2,000, and complete applications must be in the Highlander office by the January 15th deadline. Complete applications include the original and 6 copies (a total of 7) of the application form, budget information, 3 reference letters from people in the community who are familiar with your work, and something showing proficiency in the area for which you are applying. For example, if you are applying for funds to do an art project, you must provide documentation or a sample of your work showing that you are an artist.

For further information or to print an application form, please visit the We Shall Overcome Fund website. You can also contact Kristi Coleman at 865-933-3443 x221 or coleman@highlandercenter.org.

Martin Luther King at Highlander's 25th anniversary; 1957.

The Wisconsin Historical Society, which houses much of Highlander's historical material, has recently put several hundred photographs from the Highlander archives online. The pictures date from Highlander's founding to the 1960s.

To see the photographs, click here.

If you participated in Highlander programs or worked at Highlander from the 1930s to the 1960s, you can help us identify people in the pictures. If you recognize someone, please do the following:

• Click on the "Send Feedback" link in the lower-right corner of the page on which the picture is displayed
• Then click on the "Ask a question or leave feedback" link on the Contact page and fill out the form

When you send information, please include the caption and the "Image ID" number (which you can find by clicking on the picture to enlarge it).

We appreciate the Historical Society's ongoing efforts to digitize the Highlander photographs, and the work of Thorsten Horton and Charis Horton, Myles Horton's son and daughter, who have helped identify pictures in the collection.

The End Mountaintop Removal Action and Resource Center has put together a terrific online tool that enables people around the country to see how their electric utility company is connected to mountaintop removal.

To see how your electricity is connected to mountaintop removal and what you can do to stop it, visit www.ilovemountains.org/myconnection.

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