- Zilphia Horton
Zilphia Horton (1910-1956) was American
musician ,community organizer ,educator ,Civil Rights activist, andfolklorist . She is best-known for her work with her husbandMyles Horton at theHighlander Folk School where she is generally credited with turning such songs as "We Shall Overcome ", "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize ," "We Shall Not Be Moved , " and "This Little Light of Mine " fromhymn s into songs of theCivil Rights movement .She was born Zilphia Mae Johnson in Paris,
Arkansas . She was trained as a classical musician.Zilphia was a graduate of the
College of the Ozarks . She was determined to use her talents for the better good of the southern working class. She was disowned by her family after she tried to organize her father'scoal mine . In 1935, she attended a labor education workshop at the Highlander Folk School. Two months later, she married the school's founder, Myles Horton.As a member of the staff, Zilphia served in many ways. She directed workers'
theatre productions, junior union camps, and various community programs, organized union locals, and led singing at workshops,picket lines , union meetings, and fund-raising concerts. She had students collectfolk songs ,religious music , and union songs around the South which she then re-wrote or re-worked to turn intoanthem s of the Civil Rights movement.She and Myles Horton had two children. In 1956, she died of
kidney failure after accidentally drinking a glass oftypewriter cleaning fluid she mistook for water.Accomplishments
She is best known for helping to transform the song "
We Shall Overcome " into a Civil Rights anthem in 1946. Other musicians credited with transforming the song are Frank Hamilton,Guy Carawan , andPete Seeger . Other songs she re-worked were "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize," "We Shall Not Be Moved, " and "This Little Light of Mine." She collected hundreds of songs. Her papers are deposited in theTennessee State Library and Archives inNashville .References
* [http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php?EntryID=H074 "Tennessee Encyclopedia" entry]
* [http://web.bilkent.edu.tr/nova/education/horizons/v8n2/3.html Vicki K. Carter, "The Singing Heart of Highlander Folk School"]
* [http://candacecorrigan.com/wvoice/horton.html bio sketch]
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