Prairie Radicals: Populism, Agitating, Organizing, Texas Farmers, a Scary-Looking Marine, Terrible Tomatoes, Free Markets, Bad Actors, Good Hardware Stores—and Much More

Back in the late 2000s, Hightower was asked to donate his papers to The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University in San Marcos. In honor of the acquisition, the folks at Wittliff threw a raucous celebration of populism that included food, music, talks and loads more—all of which are fundamental to good politics in our book. After being introduced by the inimitable Senator Fred Harris, Hightower gave some remarks about his life’s work to that point, which, as he notes, is less about him and more about the larger movement connecting together to fight for the common good. This is a video of his remarks, which will take you through a roller coaster of agitating, organizing, Texas farmers’ gems, a scary looking Marine near the Grand Ole Opry, terrible tomatoes, free markets, bad actors, good hardware stores and so much more. The transcript of both Fred’s and Hightower’s talks, is below. Enjoy!