We Are Highlander.

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We are a catalyst for grassroots organizing and movement building in Appalachia and the South. We work with people fighting for justice, equality and sustainability, supporting their efforts to take collective action to shape their own destiny.

WHAT WE DO

Since 1932, Highlander has centered the experiences of directly-impacted people in our region, knowing that together, we have the solutions to address the challenges we face in our communities and to build more just, equitable, and sustainable systems and structures. Our workshops and programming bring people together across issues, identity, and geography to share and build skills, knowledge, and strategies for transformative social change.
This work has created strong movement infrastructure in the South and Appalachia, building networks and organizing efforts that advanced the labor movements of the 1930s and 40s, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s, and environmental, economic, and racial justice organizing across decades.
Today, this work is fortifying movement in the 21st Century by building the leadership of youth, LGBTQ+, and Black and Brown organizers; advancing solidarity economies to dismantle capitalism and extractive industries in our region; creating capacity for movement organizations through fiscal sponsorships and hands-on network support to groups like the Movement for Black Lives and the Southern Movement Assembly; shifting resources to build power within our region; and making sure Southern freedom fighters not only have a seat at decision-making tables, but are leading national and global efforts to shift systems and structures that all too often have incubated oppression and exploitation in our home communities.

Check Out Our Spring 2024 Program Update!

Transformative Justice via a Social Solidarity Economy​

We explore economic and governance systems with communities and grassroots organizations through participatory processes that create knowledge and share solutions to transform community wealth and health through democratic and cooperative practices and policies.

Movement Accompaniment + Support

We support grassroots organizing and movement-building by boosting capacity and infrastructure for movement, supporting intergenerational leadership development for this long-haul work, resourcing and funding Southern organizing with mini-grants and technical support, and supporting regional, national and global networks that build collective power for transformative justice. We also facilitate workshops and residencies to deepen skills in Highlander's methodologies and in grassroots organizing tactics and strategies.

Incubate & Innovate Radical Work

We build capacity and power for grassroots organizing networks through active network participation and support, strategic partnerships, anchor roles in movement coalitions and collaborations, and by providing fiscal sponsorship to emerging groups and organizations.

Intergenerational Leadership

Our Seeds of Fire Program and Children's Justice Camp promote youth-centered, youth-led spaces and organizing, providing peer guidance and mentorship, political education, and skill-based trainings that make room for young people to take the resources they need and build power together.

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