A Singing Army: Zilphia Horton and the Highlander Folk School (Louann Atkins Temple Women & Culture)

Zilphia Horton was a pioneer of cultural organizing, an activist and musician who taught people how to use the arts as a tool for social change, and a catalyst for anthems of empowerment such as “We Shall Overcome” and “We Shall Not Be Moved.” Her contributions to the Highlander Folk School, a pivotal center of the labor and civil rights movements in the mid-twentieth century, and her work creating the songbook of the labor movement influenced countless figures, from Woody Guthrie to Eleanor Roosevelt to Rosa Parks. Despite her outsized impact, Horton’s story is little known. __A Singing Army__ introduces this overlooked figure to the world. Drawing on extensive archival and oral history research, as well as numerous interviews with Horton's family and friends, Kim Ruehl chronicles her life from her childhood in Arkansas coal country, through her formative travels and friendship with radical Presbyterian minister Claude C. Williams, and into her instrumental work in desegregation and fostering the music of the civil rights era. Revealing these experiences—as well as her unconventional marriage and controversial death by poisoning—__A Singing Army__ tells the story of an all-but-forgotten woman who inspired thousands of working-class people to stand up and sing for freedom and equality. "Zilphia Horton was a pioneer of cultural organizing, an activist and musician who taught people how to use the arts as a tool for social change, and a catalyst for anthems of empowerment such as "We Shall Overcome" and "We Shall Not Be Moved." Her contributions to the Highlander Folk School, a pivotal center of the labor and civil rights movements in the mid-twentieth century, and her work creating the songbook of the labor movement influenced countless figures, from Woody Guthrie to Eleanor Roosevelt to Rosa Parks. Despite her outsized impact, Horton's story has seldom been told. A Singing Army introduces this overlooked figure to the world. Drawing on extensive archival, oral history research, and numerous interviews with Horton's family and friends, Kim Ruehl chronicles her life from childhood in Arkansas coal country, through her formative travels and friendship with radical Presbyterian minister Claude C. Williams, and into her instrumental work in desegregation and fostering the music of the civil rights era. Revealing these experiences--as well as her unconventional marriage and controversial death by poisoning--A Singing Army tells the story of an all-but-forgotten woman who inspired thousands of working-class people to stand up and sing for freedom and equality"-- Provided by publisher

Zilphia Horton was a pioneer of cultural organizing, an activistand musician who taught people how to use the arts as a tool forsocial change, and a catalyst for anthems of empowerment such as"We Shall Overcome" and "We Shall Not Be Moved." Her contributionsto the Highlander Folk School, a pivotal center of the labor andcivil rights movements in the mid-twentieth century, and her workcreating the songbook of the labor movement influenced countlessfigures, from Woody Guthrie to Eleanor Roosevelt to Rosa Parks.Despite her outsized impact, Horton's story is little known. ASinging Army introduces this overlooked figure to theworld.

Drawing on extensive archival and oral history research, as wellas numerous interviews with Horton's family and friends, Kim Ruehlchronicles her life from her childhood in Arkansas coal country,through her formative travels and friendship with radicalPresbyterian minister Claude C. Williams, and into her instrumentalwork in desegregation and fostering the music of the civil rightsera. Revealing these experiences-as well as her unconventionalmarriage and controversial death by poisoning-A SingingArmy tells the story of an all-but-forgotten woman whoinspired thousands of working-class people to stand up and sing forfreedom and equality.

Zilphia Horton was a pioneer of cultural organizing, an activist and musician who taught people how to use the arts as a tool for social change, and a catalyst for anthems of empowerment such as “We Shall Overcome” and “We Shall Not Be Moved.” Her contributions to the Highlander Folk School, a pivotal center of the labor and civil rights movements in the mid-twentieth century, and her work creating the songbook of the labor movement influenced countless figures, from Woody Guthrie to Eleanor Roosevelt to Rosa Parks. Despite her outsized impact, Horton’s story is little known. A Singing Army introduces this overlooked figure to the world. Drawing on extensive archival and oral history research, as well as numerous interviews with Horton's family and friends, Kim Ruehl chronicles her life from her childhood in Arkansas coal country, through her formative travels and friendship with radical Presbyterian minister Claude C. Williams, and into her instrumental work in desegregation and fostering the music of the civil rights era. Revealing these experiences—as well as her unconventional marriage and controversial death by poisoning— A Singing Army tells the story of an all-but-forgotten woman who inspired thousands of working-class people to stand up and sing for freedom and equality. The first biography of activist and musician Zilphia Horton, a woman who inspired thousands of working people and left a legacy that changed the world.