FBI Files on Highlander Folk School on Microfilm, 1940-1972
Collection Number: 5898 mf

Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library


DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
FBI Files on Highlander Folk School on Microfilm, 1940-1972
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
5898 mf
Creator:
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Quanitities:
0.11 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English

Biographical / Historical

The Highlander Folk School (HFS) in Monteagle, Tennessee, was established in 1932 by Myles Horton, a native Tennessean, who wanted 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 mountain." The school accepted workers whom their unions considered potential leaders, and the unions paid most of their way through the school. These workers were trained in such endeavors as collective bargaining, contract negotiation, and strike organization, as well as less weighty, but presumably no less important, skills like poster-making and song-singing. Rosa Parks was trained by Highlander prior to her historic role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, other activists who participated in training include members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Septima Clark, Anne Braden, Martin Luther King, Jr., James Bevel, Hollis Watkins, Bernard Lafayette, Ralph Abernathy and John Lewis in the mid - and - late 1950s. The state of Tennessee closed the school in 1961 because of backlash against the school's involvement with the Civil Rights Movement.
Highlander reorganized and moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, where it reopened as the Highlander Research and Education Center.
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference archivist for access to these materials.
Conditions Governing Use

This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and Procedures for Document Use.

INFORMATION FOR USERS

Preferred Citation

FBI Files on Highlander Folk School on Microfilm #5898 mf. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.

Related Materials

Related Collections: 5717: Highlander Folk School Publications

SUBJECTS

Names:
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Highland Folk School (HFS)
Highlander Research and Education Center (HREC)
Sea Island Progressive Club Center
Tennessee House of Representatives
Bagelon, David L.
Belmont, A. H.
Buttrick, Jr., William T.
Clegg, Hugh M.
DeLoach, C. D.
Dombrowski, James
Ford, Peyton
Green, William
Griffin, Marvin
Hoover, J. Edgar
Horton, Myles
Jones, M. A.
Jones, Robert F.
Ladd, D. M.
Laughlin, L. L.
Levy, Herbert M.
Masonk, Lucy R.
McGrath, J. Howard
Murphy, W. A.
Nichols, L. B.
Roosevelt, Eleanor
Smith, R. W.
Sullivan, W. C.
Swift, W. A.
Tolson, Clyde

CONTAINER LIST
Container
Description
Date
Reel 1
Sections 1-11, 1936-1972.
Reel 1
Section 1: 4/1936-7/1941.
Reel 1 1
Report
1940
Scope and Contents
1/29/40 on speech by James Dombrowski, chairman of the Highlander Folk School (HFS), on the philosophy and program of the school, including a list of HFS Advisory Committee members
Reel 1 2
Newspaper clippings
1940
Scope and Contents
spring 1940
Reel 1 3
Various letters
1940
Scope and Contents
alleging Communist influence within the HFS
Reel 1 4
Memo
1940
Scope and Contents
12/6/40 to Bureau Director J. Edgar Hoover regarding request from Congressman Robert F. Jones to review the HFS file
Reel 1 5
Letter
1941
Scope and Contents
4/9/41 from the special agent-in-charge (SAC), Knoxville, to Hoover requesting the bureau to develop photographs of HFS documents
Reel 1 6
Memo
1941
Scope and Contents
4/14/41 from SAC Knoxville regarding report on the HFS furnished to William Green, president of the American Federation of Labor
Reel 1 7
Report
1941
Scope and Contents
5/13/41 on the enrollment of William T. Buttrick, Jr., at the University of Florida
Reel 1 8
Report
1941
Scope and Contents
6/1/41 regarding past activities of HFS faculty members
Reel 1 9
HFS promotional literarture
Reel 1 10
Report
1941
Scope and Contents
6/4/41 on Edwin B. Schutlz
Reel 1 11
Memo
1941
Scope and Contents
6/6/41 from R.C. Hendon to Clyde Tolson regarding the HFS
Reel 1 12
Reports
1941
Scope and Contents
6/41 concerning background checks of HFS personnel
Reel 1
Section 2: 7/1941-1/1942.
1941
Reel 1 13
Report
1941
Scope and Contents
7/29/41 concerning background checks
Reel 1 14
Report
1941
Scope and Contents
7/17/41 including the HFS Charter of Incorporation
Reel 1 15
Report
1941
Scope and Contents
9/29/41 concerning the Institute for Labor Studies
Reel 1 16
Letter
1941
Scope and Contents
10/4/41 from W.A. Murphy (SAC Knoxville) to Hoover concerning Myles Horton
Reel 1 17
Letter
1941
Scope and Contents
10/12/41 from Murphy to Hoover regarding status of the HFS investigation
Reel 1 18
Report
1941
Scope and Contents
10/21/41 concerning HFS contributors
Reel 1 19
Report
1941
Scope and Contents
11/29/41 on HFS personnel
Reel 1 20
Report
1941
Scope and Contents
12/30/41 on all aspects of the HFS to date
Reel 1
Section 3: 1/1942-10/1942.
Reel 1 21
Report
1942
Scope and Contents
1/8/42 regarding Joseph Kelley Stockton
Reel 1 22
Letter
1942
Scope and Contents
1/19/42 from Murphy to Hoover stating that HFS-produced publications, including The Highlander Fling, will be provided in future reports
Reel 1 23
Letter
1942
Scope and Contents
1/28/42 from Murphy to Hoover regarding a synopsis of the HFS 1941 annual report
Reel 1 24
Letter
1942
Scope and Contents
2/16/42 from Murphy to Hoover, including copies of The Highlander Fling
Reel 1 25
Report
1942
Scope and Contents
2/26/42 on James Dombrowski
Reel 1 26
Letter
1942
Scope and Contents
2/28/42 from Murphy to Hoover regarding a $100 donation to the HFS from Eleanor Roosevelt
Reel 1 27
Copy of the ninth annual report of the HFS
1941
Reel 1 28
Copy of Songs of Field and Factory
1940
Scope and Contents
HFS publication, spring 1940
Reel 1 29
Letter
1942
Scope and Contents
3/18/42 from Murphy to Hoover, including HFS promotional literature and additional copies of The Highlander Fling
Reel 1 30
Report
1942
Scope and Contents
4/1/42 on interview of Horton concerning his activities in the school area
Reel 1 31
Report
1942
Scope and Contents
6/17/42 concerning interview of a former HFS employee
Reel 1 32
Report
1942
Scope and Contents
7/9/42 regarding the HFS benefit concert in Washington by Paul Robeson and other HFS activities
Reel 1 33
includes newspaper clippings and additional HFS publications
Reel 1 34
Report
1942
Scope and Contents
9/12/42 regarding founding of the HFS and other background information
Reel 1 35
Memo
1942
Scope and Contents
10/23/42 from Hoover to SAC Knoxville ordering a halt to the active investigation of the HFS
Reel 1 36
Report
1942
Scope and Contents
10/22/42 on summer session of the HFS
Reel 1
Section 4: 10/1942-6/1954.
Reel 1 37
Memo
1942
Scope and Contents
10/27/42 from K.R. McIntire to Mr. Mumford, including HFS promotional materials
Reel 1 38
Report
1942
Scope and Contents
12/3/42 on tenth anniversary activities at the HFS
Reel 1 39
Letter
1942
Scope and Contents
12/14/42 regarding closing of file, including one HFS publication
Reel 1 40
Letter
1947
Scope and Contents
2/14/47 from Assistant Attorney General David L. Bagelon to Hoover regrading the HFS
Reel 1 41
includes additional information
Reel 1 42
Memo
1948
Scope and Contents
3/18/48 from Hoover to SAC Knoxville regarding possible Communist "front" status of the HFS
Reel 1 43
Letter
1950
Scope and Contents
12/10/50 from Myles Horton to Hugh H. Clegg, assistant director of the bureau
Reel 1 44
Memo
1951
Scope and Contents
1/4/51 from D.M. Ladd to Hoover regarding response to Horton
Reel 1 45
Memo
1951
Scope and Contents
1/22/51 from Mr. Belmont to Mr. Ladd regarding response to Horton
Reel 1 46
Letter
1951
Scope and Contents
2/14/51 from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to Hoover inquiring into the investigation of the HFS
Reel 1 47
Letter
1951
Scope and Contents
1/31/51 from Horton to US Attorney General J. Howard McGrath regarding bureau investigation of black students enrolled at the HFS
Reel 1 48
Memo
1951
Scope and Contents
2/26/51 from Hoover to Peyton Ford, deputy attorney general, concerning correspondence with Myles Horton
Reel 1 49
Memo
1951
Scope and Contents
2/21/51 from D.M. Ladd to the director regarding Baldwin's allegation of bureau activity at the HFS
Reel 1 50
Teletype
1951
Scope and Contents
2/21/51 from SAC Knoxville to Hoover regarding interviews of Myles Horton
Reel 1 51
Memo
1951
Scope and Contents
3/5/51 from Peyton Ford to Hoover regarding correspondence with Myles Horton
Reel 1 52
Memo
1951
Scope and Contents
3/12/51 from L.L. Laughlin to A.H. Belmont regarding an HFS letter alleging bureau investigation of interracial enrollment
Reel 1 53
Newspaper clippings concerning the HFS
Reel 1 54
Memo
1951
Scope and Contents
2/27/51 from D.M. Ladd to Hoover regarding complaints surrounding the HFS investigation
Reel 1 55
Letter
1951
Scope and Contents
3/14/51 from Lucy R. Mason of the Congress of Industrial Organizations regarding bureau agents
Reel 1 56
Memo
1951
Scope and Contents
2/23/51 from D.M. Ladd to Hoover regarding the investigation of the HFS
Reel 1 57
Letter
1951
Scope and Contents
4/18/51 from Herbert M. Levy of the ACLU regarding correspondence from Hoover
Reel 1 58
Memo
1953
Scope and Contents
8/25/53 from A.H. Belmont to D.M. Ladd regarding Jenner Committee request for information on Myles Horton
Reel 1 59
Memo
1953
Scope and Contents
8/27/53 from SAC Knoxville to Hoover regarding interview of Rev. W.A. Swift, Monteagle, TN
Reel 1
Section 5: 12/1955-2/1959.
Reel 1 60
Report
1956
Scope and Contents
4/27/56 regarding Myles Horton and his wife
Reel 1 61
Copy of the HFS 21st Annual Report (10/1/52-9/30/53)
Reel 1 62
Copy of "A Guide to Community Action for Public School Integration"
Reel 1 63
Copy of "Public Speaking"
Reel 1 64
Copy of Highlander Reports, July 1953
1953
Reel 1 65
Memo
1956
Scope and Contents
9/20/56 from SAC Mobile to Hoover regarding the HFS
Reel 1 66
Memo
1957
Scope and Contents
8/30/57 from L.B. Nichols to Clyde Tolson regarding increased activity at the HFS and the plan of events for its 25th anniversary
Reel 1 67
Memo
1957
Scope and Contents
9/4/57 from SAC Knoxville to Hoover regarding information that the HFS is becoming a center for teaching civil disobedience
Reel 1 68
Pamphlet issued by the Georgia Commission on Education, Governor Marvin Griffin, chairman, alleging Communist activities at the HFS
Reel 1 69
Newspaper clippings
Reel 1 70
Letter
1957
Scope and Contents
11/1/57 from Hoover to SAC Knoxville inquiring into civil disobedience activities at the HFS
Reel 1 71
Letter
1957
Scope and Contents
11/21/57 from Septima Clark of the HFS soliciting funds
Reel 1 72
Copy of Highlander Reports, 25th Annual (10/1/56-9/30/57)
1956-1957
Reel 1 73
Copy of "Official Statement of Policy" of the HFS
Reel 1 74
Newspaper clippings
Reel 1 75
Pamphlet: "Communism and the NAACP," origin unknown
Reel 1 76
Letter
1959
Scope and Contents
1/59 from Myles Horton soliciting funds
Reel 1 77
Copy of 26th Annual Report (10/1/57-9/30/58)
Reel 1 78
Letter
1959
Scope and Contents
2/2/59 from SAC Knoxville to Hoover regarding action by Tennessee legislature to investigate "subversive" activities at the HFS
Reel 1
Section 6: 2/1959-6/1961.
Reel 1 79
Memo
1959
Scope and Contents
2/24/59 from SAC Memphis to Hoover regarding support of Tennessee legislature by the Tennessee Federation for Constitutional Government
Reel 1 80
Letter
1959
Scope and Contents
6/8/59 to C.D. DeLoach regarding John's Island Branch of the HFS
Reel 1 81
Newspaper clippings regarding police raid on the HFS
Reel 1 82
Memo
1959
Scope and Contents
9/11/59 from Hoover to SAC Knoxville regarding open protest letter from Myles Horton
Reel 1 83
Report
1959
Scope and Contents
9/15/59 on the HFS
Reel 1 84
Newspaper clippings regarding trial
Reel 1 85
Memo
1960
Scope and Contents
2/29/60 from SAC Louisville to Hoover regarding the "Friends of Highlander"
Reel 1 86
Newspaper clippings regarding revocation of the HFS charter
Reel 1 87
Memo
1961
Scope and Contents
5/22/61 from SAC Knoxville to Hoover pertaining to latest legal actions and decision
Reel 1 88
Memo
1961
Scope and Contents
6/29/61 from Hoover to legal attache, Bonn (Federal Republic of Germany), regarding furnishing information about the HFS outisde the bureau
Reel 1
Section 7: 10/1961-11/1967.
Reel 1 89
Memo
1961
Scope and Contents
10/17/61 from SAC Knoxville to Hoover regarding contingency plans for the HFS to move to Knoxville
Reel 1 90
Memo
1961
Scope and Contents
10/25/61 from SAC Knoxville to Hoover regarding prointegration activities at the HFS
Reel 1 91
Memo
1963
Scope and Contents
6/20/63 from SAC Knoxville to Hoover regarding information about racial matters
Reel 1 92
Memo
1963
Scope and Contents
7/18/63 from R.W. Smith to W.C. Sullivan regarding requests from Senator Warren G. Magnuson and Congressman Jeffery Cohilan concerning racial agitation
Reel 1 93
Newspaper clippings
Reel 1 94
Memo
1963
Scope and Contents
7/26/63 from F.J. Baumgardner to W.C. Sullivan regarding Highlander Research and Education Center (HREC), Knoxville, and request for list of officers, teachers, and students
Reel 1 95
Memo
1964
Scope and Contents
8/13/64 from SAC Knoxville to Hoover regarding update on situation
Reel 1 96
Memo
1964
Scope and Contents
7/7/64 from SAC Knoxville regarding the Washington Committee for the HFS
Reel 1 97
Memo
1964
Scope and Contents
8/28/64 from SAC Knoxville to Hoover regarding voter registration drive at the Sea Island Progressive Club Center, St. John's Island, SC
Reel 1 98
Memo
1964
Scope and Contents
9/10/64 from SAC Savannah to Hoover regarding the HREC
Reel 1 99
Memo
1964
Scope and Contents
7/27/64 from M.A. Jones to C.D. DeLoach regarding request by Congressman Roman C. Purinski for information about the HFS
Reel 1 100
Airtel
1965
Scope and Contents
4/6/65 from SAC Knoxville to Hoover concerning information on student march on Washington, co-sponsored by the HREC
Reel 1 101
Newspaper clippings
Reel 1 102
Memo
1965
Scope and Contents
10/19/65 from SAC Louisville to Hoover regarding vandalism against the HREC
Reel 1 103
Letter
1965
Scope and Contents
10/19/65 from Hoover to chief, US Secret Service, regarding the HREC
Reel 1 104
Memo
1967
Scope and Contents
4/13/67 from SAC Louisville to Hoover regarding vote by the Tennessee House of Representatives to start a second legislative investigation of the HREC
Reel 1 105
Copy of Tennessee House Joint Resolution No. 14
Scope and Contents
authorizing a committee to investigate the activites of the HREC of Knoxville County and its affiliated organizations
Reel 1 106
Memo
1967
Scope and Contents
6/9/67 from SAC Knoxville to Hoover regarding the HREC
Reel 1
Section 8: 1/1968-8/1972.
Reel 1 107
Miscellaneous letters to the bureau requesting information about the HFS and the HREC
1968-1972
Reel 1 108
Section 9: 11/1940-6/1967.
Reel 1
Newspaper clippings, arranged chronologically
1940-1967
Reel 1 109
Section 10: 1/20/1958.
Reel 1 110
Memo
1958
Scope and Contents
1/20/1958 from SAC Knoxville to director regarding attempt to blow up the HFS
Reel 1
Section 11: 3/1959-9/1963.
Reel 1 111
Teletype
1959
Scope and Contents
3/16/59 from SAC Memphis to Hoover regarding bomb threat received at the HFS
Reel 1 112
Airtel
1963
Scope and Contents
9/6/63 from SAC Knoxville to Hoover regarding bomb threat received at the HREC