Special Remembrance - Rev. James Orange
Highlander mourns the passing of Rev. James Orange, a veteran of the Civil Rights Movement and a tireless advocate for justice.
Rev. Orange became involved in the Civil Rights Movement as a recent high-school graduate during the 1963 demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama. He served as a project coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference from 1965-1970 and later worked for the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union and the AFL-CIO, where he helped to build bridges between the civil rights movement and organized labor.
Rev. Orange served on the Highlander Board in the 1990s, and he has been a strong supporter of Highlander's cultural work. Most recently, in his capacity as coordinator of the Martin Luther King Jr. March Committee-Africa/African-American Renaissance Committee, he and the committee staff facilitated the participation of Tufara Waller Muhammad, Highlander's Cultural Organizer, in the Martin Luther King Day events at the King Center in Atlanta.
In addition to his work for civil rights and social justice in this country, Rev. Orange was known for his work connecting the struggle of Black southerners in the United States with that of Africans in South Africa and he encouraged South Africans to use the U.S. Civil Rights Movement as a model for fighting apartheid. He understood the importance of linking the global South to the U.S. South and was an international activist-organizer-political educator. He was acknowledged by people around the world as a citizen of the world.
We join Rev. Orange's family, friends, and colleagues in honoring his life and mourning his passing. He worked passionately for justice and equality throughout his life, and his many contributions to movement in this country and around the world will long be remembered.
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| 1. Upcoming Highlander Workshops |
Highlander has a full schedule of workshops planned for the next several months. They include:
- Interpreting for Social Justice - March 14-16. For bilingual social justice activists in the southeast interested in interpretation and translation in a social justice context. Applications for this workshop are closed. More...
- Singing and Song-Sharing Workshop - April 11-13. For organizers, activists, and musicians in the southeast who have liberation songs to share and who would like to learn new songs to incorporate into their social justice work. More...
- Threads: A Leadership and Organizing School - focused on Economic, Environmental and Racial Justice. The first workshop will take place on May 2-4, 2008. The application deadline has been extended until February 29th. More...
- Social Change Workshop - June 6-8, 2008. Experience Highlander, share and learn ideas and strategies for social change. Open to participants from anywhere in the U.S. or abroad. More...
| 2. New Materials at the Highlander Bookstore! |
We have some great new materials in our on-line bookstore. These include
- A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict (DVD) - This is a fabulous educational tool, with six 30-minute stories of ways non-violent power has overcome oppression throughout the world. It has English, Spanish and French versions all on the same DVD. $39.95.
- Morristown: In the Air and Sun (DVD) - by Anne Lewis - This is an excellent film for these days of economic anxiety and growing anti-immigrant sentiment. It shares the voices of workers from Tennessee and Mexico affected by the global economy. $25.00
- Moving Mountains - by Penny Loeb. This book shares the story of Trish Bragg and her community as they fight the devastation of coal mining. $27.95
- What Lies Beneath: Katrina, Race and the State of the Nation - edited by South End Press Collective. A series of essays, this anthology explores the complexity of the devastation of Katrina and its aftermath. $14.00
And don't forget to get your Highlander 75th anniversary t-shirt, hat, CD, and Book of Years, with its photo history timeline of Highlander's work since 1932.
To purchase these and other books, videos, CD's and DVD's to inspire people working for social change, follow the links above, or visit the Highlander Bookstore.
| 3. Youth and Intergenerational Workshop at Appalachian Studies Conference |
Highlander and the Appalshop Appalachian Media Institute are planning several sessions at the March 28-30 Appalachian Studies Conference at Marshall University in West Virginia, to raise the voices of youth and young adults and to help us all think about ways to do better intergenerational work. The following sessions are being planned:
- Friday, March 28 at 12:30: Hanging in There - Intergenerational Organizing - a workshop about how to build sustainable, healthy intergenerational partnerships to strengthen our organizations and our movement. (Highlander)
- Saturday, March 29 at 2:30: Looking Down the Road - A dialogue about critical issues facing young Appalachians and the creative ways they are addressing persistent regional issues. (Highlander, Appalshop Appalachian Media Institute, and youth from across the region)
- Sunday, March 30 at 11:00 Youth Speak about the Future of the Mountains - Farewell brunch with prizes!
Other sessions geared to youth and an intergenerational reception are also on the program. So help us get out the word and bring younger voices to this event - after all, the theme is "The Road Ahead"!
For more information about the Appalachian Studies Conference, and to register, visit the conference website. The registration deadline is March 7.
| 4. Help Nominate Pete Seeger for a Nobel Peace Prize |
Highlander is proud to support the campaign to nominate Pete Seeger for the Nobel Peace Prize. Pete has worked tirelessly for peace and justice through his music and his life, and we honor his many contributions to the movement.
For more information about the campaign, and to sign the petition to nominate Pete, visit A Nobel Peace Prize for Pete Seeger.
| 5. New Study on Racial Bias in the Subprime Mortgage Crisis |
Check out Foreclosed: The State of the Dream 2008, a new study by United for a Fair Economy that examines the racial bias of the subprime mortgage lending crisis and the resulting huge wealth loss to people of color that has resulted. To read or download the report, visit this link.
| 6. Guy and Candie Carawan at the Ash Grove Reunion |
Guy and Candie Carawan - musicians, activists, and long-time Highlander staff members - will be among the featured performers at the 50th anniversary celebration for the historic Ash Grove night club in Los Angeles on April 18-20, 2008.
Founded in 1958, the Ash Grove was a vital center for culture and politics, presenting music from peoples and communities across the country, including folk, blues, country, bluegrass, Cajun, and more. It was also a training ground for new musicians, giving many their first experience with music outside the pop mainstream.
The Ash Grove anniversary celebration will be held at UCLA, in collaboration with the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology. Other performers will include Taj Mahal, Ry Cooder, Holly Near, Bernice Johnson Reagon, the Freedom Singers, and Michelle Shocked.
For more information about the celebration, and about the history of the Ash Grove, visit the Ash Grove website. For information about Guy and Candie Carawan's music and their ongoing work for justice, visit their Guy & Candie Carawan: A Personal Story Through Sight & Sound.
| 7. Highlander and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day |
Members of the Highlander staff were involved in a variety of events related to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January.
- On January 17, Tufara Waller Muhammad, Highlander's Cultural Organizer, participated in the Martin Luther King Day events at the Martin Luther King National Historic Site Visitors Center in Atlanta. Tufara made a cultural presentation as part of the King Holiday Paul Robeson Peace Program, and led the closing song at the 5th Annual King Holiday Human Rights Symposium. The King Center events were organized by Rev. James Orange and Dr. Keith Jennings, founder and president of the African-American Human Rights Foundation.
- On January 18, Elandria Williams, a member of Highlander's Education Team, spoke on a panel entitled "Counting the Cost of Militarism," which was sponsored by the Oak Ridge Peace Alliance and held at the Beck Cultural Center in Knoxville. Over 80 people attended the discussion. For more details, see OREPA's February 2008 newsletter.
- On January 22-23 and January 30-31, Elandria Williams and Anasa Troutman, coordinator of Highlander's Development and Communications Team, were featured guests at the University of New England (UNE) as part of UNE's Martin Luther King Celebration, "Constructing Democracy."
- On January 22-23, Elandria was in residence at UNE's University Campus in Biddeford, Maine. She delivered a keynote address on "Constructing Democracy," led a discussion on "Racism and Oppression in Our Community" and facilitated a "Leadership for Activism" Workshop.
- On January 30-31, Anasa was in residence at UNE's Westbrook College Campus in Portland, Maine. She delivered a keynote address on "Why We Can't Wait," and facilitated workshops on "Initiating Conversations: Tools for Change" and "Engaging Communities through the Arts."
The University of New England invited Highlander staff for keynote addresses and residency work after hearing about Highlander through the NPR 75th anniversary story. For more information about the UNE events, click here.
| 8. National Immigrant Rights Conference |
As part of Highlander's work for immigrant organizing and building bridges between communities, staff members Monica Hernandez and Roberto Tijerina played active roles in supporting the National Conference on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which was held in Houston on January 18-21, 2008. The conference, sponsored by the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR), was attended by over 600 people.
- Monica and Roberto were on the national planning team for the conference, and both participated in a day-long pre-conference institute on updating NNIRR's BRIDGE curriculum, which uses popular education to address immigration and immigrant rights issues.
- During the conference Monica and Eunice Cho, former staff at NNIRR, co-facilitated a two part workshop on popular education and organizing, and Roberto facilitated a workshop on multilingual capacity building.
- Roberto also helped coordinate interpretation at the conference, which included preparing equipment, co-facilitating the orientation for the interpreters, and interpreting at the plenary and several workshops.
Highlander Director Pam McMichael also attended the conference. For more information on Highlander's support for immigrant organizing, visit the Pueblos de Latinoamérica page on our website.
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