I Remember Highlander

Abstract: "I Remember Highlander" reflects on the life choices of Marion Barry and Herman Henning Jr., fraternity brothers who sought the same goal but took different paths. The essay examines cultural and family situations that shaped lives and decisions. Keywords: Marion Barry, Black history, life decision, Tennessee, social justice ********** Everyone was excited about the trip to a "great place" in East Tennessee. I agreed to go because I'm a native Tennessean, and I had never heard of this "place" where the educational needs of the underrepresented were provided and wanted to document the experience. I knew about Tennessee's Historically Black Colleges and Universities. I knew we had junior colleges in smaller communities so local citizens had a chance to expand their education. I just had no concept of "this" place. Besides, it was in East Tennessee. As a faculty member who works at a university with many support staff from East Central Tennessee, I was interested in getting a better understanding of "those people." They do their own thing. I acknowledge that I might have been a bit prejudiced. As a West Tennessean, I thought that everything important happened in our part of the state. The music industry centered on Rock and Roll and Rhythm and Blues is situated in West Tennessee, along with Elvis Presley and Stax Records. The best medical facilities are in West Tennessee. We grew up watching documentaries on the poverty of East Tennessee. Outside of Knoxville with the biggest university and Murfreesboro with its enclave of engineers but what could possibly be worthwhile in that part of the state? Coming to Highlander opened my eyes to my state's history, heritage, and humanity. The setting was just as I imagined for a facility east of Nashville. There were rolling hills, rocking chairs everywhere, and pictures of those who had come before us. It was like going to grandma's house. We put our things away and gathered in the rocking chairs to learn about Highlander. We were shown the library and allowed to read some of the books that gave the background of Highlander. Like an elementary school child in a new styled classroom library, I found a sofa and read about Highlander's earliest students, poor White women. Highlander's history and connections took me into a culture that I had ignored. I knew about poor urban women who chose to work because their families' devalued education. I did not know of the farm wives who were discouraged against even considering going to school. They were told they did not need an education. Their purpose in life was to have babies and cook for their families. I felt a kinship with them as I read about the challenges these women faced and how Highlander's founders did all they could to teach them without disrupting their households or creating repercussions that would discourage other women from seeking a way out of perpetual ignorance. As an African American, reading about the conditions these women went through to get an education made me feel a lot closer to them than ever before. As I continued to read about and explore Highlander's meeting spaces, I spent one evening viewing and taking video of pictures of those who had visited Highlander. I was shocked to learn about all the African Americans who came there. Here was a picture of Rosa Parks. As a child, I was taught that one day she was just too tired to move to the back of the bus. Others had suggested then that White people had not been kind to her even though she sewed for them. Yet upon reading more about her, I learned how she had been selected, trained, and prepared for this momentous event. I saw pictures of her with friends who were White. The pictures were of people enjoying each other because they were all people working together, and color did not matter. Reading about other African American leaders, like Ralph Bunch and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. …