Highlander Institute Finds White Power Symbol After Fire

NEW MARKET, TN — After a Tennessee social justice center's main office burned down in a fire, the organization said a symbol connected to the white power movement was found spray painted on the parking lot connected to the building destroyed in the fire.

In a statement on Tuesday, The Highlander Research and Education Center said that the names of the culprits are not known but noted that the white power movement "has been increasing and consolidating power across the South, across the nation, and globally."

Founded in 1932, Highlander held workshops and training sessions during the Civil Rights Movement that helped lay the groundwork for the Montgomery bus boycott and the founding of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, according to a history on the Highlander website. The state of Tennessee revoked Highlander's charter in 1961 and it then reopened as the Highlander Research and Education Center.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said it is investigating along with state bomb and arson authorities. In a statement, the sheriff's office said it was investigating a symbol in the parking lot to see if it had any affiliation with a group or individual.

According to Knox News, the symbol found at the parking lot was displayed by the man accused of killing Muslim worshippers at a mosque in New Zealand. The paper reported that the symbol was used by a far-right, anti-Semitic movement in Romania in the 1930s. The symbol was also used by the Traditionalist Worker Party, whose leader was involved in the 2017 Charlottesville Unite The Right rally that left one woman dead, according to Knox News.

"Highlander is a sacred place built by communities of the most affected people and it has become a home to those who believe in freedom and collective liberation here in the south, across the U.S and around the world," the statement from Highlander said. "Because of our history we are not surprised that this space, one where marginalized people working across sectors, geographies and identities show up consistently, has been repeatedly targeted over our 87 years of existence."

On its website, the center says it serves as a catalyst for grassroots organizing and movement building in Appalachia and the South.

"We work with people fighting for justice, equality and sustainability, supporting their efforts to take collective action to shape their own destiny," the center's mission statement says.