Chapter 11: Building the Beloved Community: Intergenerational Organizing at the Highlander Research and Education Center

In this chapter, we explore the youth–adult partnership work occurring at the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tennessee. For decades, the Highlander Center has been a space of learning for youth and adults engaged in intergenerational organizing across the South and Appalachia. Given the focus of this book on the range of ways in which young people and adults build authentic relationships and partner towards shared goals, the book editors connected with staff members at the Highlander Center to learn more about their history, methodology, and pedagogy. We were especially interested in Seeds of Fire, an intensive training program that Highlander hosts for youth organizers every summer.