A Singing Army: Zilphia Horton and the Highlander Folk School

by Kim Ruehl

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.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Education, Labor

320 pages, Hardcover

Published March 23, 2021

About the author

Kim Ruehl is a writer, editor, and folk music advocate based in Asheville, North Carolina. She has written for Billboard, NPR Music, Seattle Weekly, and various others. She was also editor of No Depression — the roots music journal — for nine years. She was instrumental in bringing the magazine back to print as a high-end, ad-free quarterly journal, and ended her run there in 2017 as editor-in-chief.

Her book, A Singing Army: Zilphia Horton and the Highlander Folk School, is due March 23, 2021, from the University of Texas Press.

Reviews

[Jud Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every now and then some product of academic Appalachia refers to the Highlander Folk School (HFS) as part of the Appalachian "tradition" of labor organizing. If there were indeed such a tradition in Appalachia -- something widely practiced and celebrated among a significant number of people -- HFS would be well known. But it is not. I've known about it since I was a child in Chattanooga, TN, because my parents were the odd ones out: labor-sympathizing lefties. Since then, more or less to confirm my unsystematic opinion, I will ask an otherwise well-educated Appalachian if he or she has heard of HFS. The result is always, "No. What is it?"

So I get to tell them the amazing story of HFS, and I describe the inspiring credo of its leaders. And now thanks to this book my story will get even better. Zilphia Horton (married to HFS founder Myles) pioneered cultural practices emphasizing group involvement -- singing, improvisatory theater, handicrafts -- that provided tools for effective activism for those dedicated to working to end systemic oppression: the true "tradition" in Appalachia.

HFS is a storied institution; it is also very much an outlier. Maybe some film-maker will take Ruehl's impressive book and turn it into a pop culture blockbuster (the cast of characters includes Eleanor Roosevelt, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Rosa Parks) so HFS will get the attention it deserves.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is packed with so much information. What an interesting way to learn about the Highlander Folk School - its history and work. Kim Ruehl's detailed research and compelling writing make me wish I could have known Zilphia Horton.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astounding. Stirring. Profound. Touching. Reflective. Encouraging. Caring. Thoughtful. The untold story of one of the more influential yet unknown contributors to the labor and civil rights movements in the 20th century.

[Gregory Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I finished this book, I took a big deep breath. I felt like I had met someone, heard all about their wonderful and captivating life, then mourned their passing. Zilphia Horton was a remarkable woman who lived an incredible life. Kim Ruehl captures that life with beauty, grace, and brilliant articulate writing.

Before reading the book, I had heard of the Highlander Folk School, mostly because John Lewis (and others) from the Civil Rights Movement learned some of their non-violence training there. I had no idea the people who were behind the school. Zilphia Horton was a major part of the soul of that institution, using her voice and musical gifts to connect people. She was more than just her work, though, and the book provides ample testimony of the kind of woman she was, caring for poor mountain neighbors for many years.

As far as biography goes, this is one of the finest I've ever read. Ruehl describes her subject in just the right amount of detail so as to create a sense of knowing. The accounts of people who knew Zilphia Horton personally are balanced with traditional historical sources so as to show the complexity of a real woman, who experienced thoughts, desires, ideals, dreams, and disappointments as we all do. It is a grounded biography of a person who made a difference by organizing, educating, and singing.

I love that this book connected me to this remarkable woman. As a lover of history and music, I was moved by this book. I don't think I would assign this book for a specific class, but I would certainly recommend it for any scholars of the Civil Rights Movement, folk music in America, rural southern life in the 1920s, and even the Cold War. There's much to discuss about the book as it overlaps with a significant era in US history.

[Charles Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much is known about Myles Horton and the Highlander Center, so little about Zilphia Horton (wife of Myles) and the Highlander Center. A Singing Army is a much-needed contribution to our understanding of the Highlander Center and its contributions to social movements and social justice in the American South. For instance, Kim Ruehl grounds the reader in Ziphia's personality and contributions to the "Highlander Way" (my words) of doing social justice, such as cultural organizing that spoke to people's identities, culture, emotions, and relationships as a part of a common struggle. Highly recommended.

[Daniel Silliman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look into the life of a woman who pioneered the use of music for organizing and social justice. The record seems to be a bit thin in places, giving this biography a bit of a stretched-out feeling, and it could have used more analysis along the way, but A Singing Army does some important work establishing the significance of a woman who was wrongfully forgotten in the history of the labor movement and the civil rights movement.

[Madalene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting biography of an effort in mid-century Tennessee that influenced the labor and civil rights movement. I previously understood music's impact on both movements, but not its roots and deliberate inclusion in marches and protests. Zilphia Horton is clearly a remarkable activist and artist, and this book did not disappoint. Recommend this book to the people in your life who want to both create change and build a close community and/or family.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had heard of the Highlander School in relation to "We Shall Overcome" and Guy and Candy Carawan but not the earlier history. This is primarily a biography of one of the leaders in the 1930s and 40s.

I started this on 05/18/24 and finished it today (5/25). Goodreads isn't letting me fill in the dates.

[Lauren Harr · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible woman is finally given her due.