Highlander is mourning the loss and celebrating the life of Scott Bates, who was part of the Highlander community for over five decades. A professor at the University of the South in Sewanee, Bates began attending Highlander workshops in 1956, and he worked with Septima Clark and Myles Horton to bring an NAACP chapter to Franklin County, an 8-year struggle which eventually led to a lawsuit desegregating Franklin County public schools.
Scott Bates served on Highlander’s Board of Directors since 1958, and he was always ready and willing to give a tour of the original Highlander Folk School in Monteagle and to share the history of that site. He will be greatly missed. Our hearts and thoughts are with Phoebe, his children, and his family.