A Singing Army: Zilphia Horton and the Highlander Folk School

"Most people haven’t heard of Zilphia Horton, but the musician and activist’s influence has lasted to this day. Horton was an influential figure in the Highlander Folk School, which trained civil rights activists including John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr., and she introduced hymns like “We Shall Overcome” to the mid-20th century social justice movement. Ruehl, the former editor-in-chief of alt-country magazine No Depression, tells Horton’s life story in this exhaustively researched book – beautifully written and endlessly fascinating, it’s one of the best biographies of the year."