By Danielle Gantt and Janelle Stokes

They came together as a community to see change.

Last weekend, students, activists and professors from the Nashville community journeyed to the historical Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tenn. The rolling seminar, which was based around active citizenship, emphasized fostering a collective and organic sense of humanity.

Shaiya Baer, assistant director of the Office of Active Citizenship and Service, organized the event and hoped students would realize the historical importance of Highlander, which was founded in the 1930s "to provide an educational center in the South for the training of rural and industrial leaders, and for the conservation and enrichment of the indigenous cultural values of the mountains."

It played a large role in the civil rights movement, during whichperiod it trained several black activists and received backlash from the Southern press, resulting in the state of Tennessee revoking Highlander's charter and confiscating its land.

"Many people are just not familiar with Highlander, which isreally sad considering its impact on American history," Baer said."This was the opportunity for students to actually visit a part of history and not just read about it."

Highlander is not only known for its activist workshops, but also as a place of refuge for activists around the country including Rosa Parks, Septima Clark and Pete Seeger.

Susan Williams, coordinator of the Education Team and the Highlander

Library/Resource Center, commented on the unique qualities of Highlander.

"Highlander is a place for people to be in a safe environment. Here, people are unified through food, song and dance within a shelter equipped with institutional accouterments meant to embrace people."

The participants were accompanied by legendary historical figures,including author John Egerton, the Rev. James Lawson and Guy and Candy Carawan,who offered advice as well as musical entertainment.

Students enjoyed a hootenanny (a musical expression which facilitated bonding and a sense of community) and games.

Vanderbilt's Anastasia Curwood, an assistant professor in the African-American and diaspora studies and history departments, said the music was one of the main draws of the trip for her.

"The biggest attraction that made me want to visit Highlander was the music," Curwood said. "A lot of music from the civil-rights era came out of Highlander."

The rolling seminar offered programs such as "More Radical Than Communism" and on "Becoming a Change Agent," which was co-led by Vanderbilt sociology professor Dan Cornfield.

Zachary Joyner, a freshman from Tennessee State University, said he enjoyed his experience at Highlander.

"Not only was it educational," he said, "it was also fun."

Joyner, who was one of several non-Vanderbilt students, helped tocreate what Baer was hoping to achieve with this program: a purposeful community.

"Bringing students from different schools together I thought was a great opportunity," Baer said. "We were all from different backgrounds. We got over the stigmas between schools and became a community, which is far better at making change."

— Danielle Gantt can be reached at danielle.a.gantt@vanderbilt.edu, and Janelle Stokes can be reached at janelle.k.stokes@vanderbilt.edu

To listen to students and faculty comment on the trip and on Highlander, click on the links below.