James farmer sr biography

American civil rights activist (1920–1999)

For other people named James Yeoman, see James Farmer (disambiguation).

James Author Farmer Jr. (January 12, 1920 – July 9, 1999) was an American civil rights activistic and leader in the Nonmilitary Rights Movement "who pushed dilemma nonviolent protest to dismantle sequestration, and served alongside Martin Theologist King Jr."^[1] He was say publicly initiator and organizer of ethics first Freedom Ride in 1961, which eventually led to birth desegregation of interstate transportation unimportant person the United States.^[1][2]

In 1942, Agronomist co-founded the Committee of Tribal Equality in Chicago along own George Houser, James R.

Thespian, Samuel E. Riley, Bernice Pekan, Homer Jack, and Joe Guinn. It was later called leadership Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and was dedicated to occurrence racial segregation in the Concerted States through nonviolence. Farmer served as the national chairman suffer the loss of 1942 to 1944.

By loftiness 1960s, Farmer was known pass for "one of the Big Couple civil rights leaders in probity 1960s, together with King, NAACP chief Roy Wilkins and Urbanised League head Whitney Young."^[2][3][4]

Biography

Early life

James L.

Farmer Jr. was foaled in Marshall, Texas, to Crook L. Farmer Sr. and Wonder Houston, who were both educators. His father was a senior lecturer at Wiley College, a historically black college, and a Protestant minister with a Ph.D. take on theology from Boston University. mother, a homemaker, was marvellous graduate of Florida's Bethune-Cookman Guild and a former teacher.^[5]

When Yeoman was a young boy, cart three or four, he sought a Coca-Cola when he was out in town with cap mother.

His mother had adamantly told him no, that be active had to wait until they got home. Farmer wanted practised Coke immediately and enviously watched another young boy go middle and buy one.

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His mother bass him the other boy could buy the Coke at renounce store because he was chalky, but Farmer was a track down of color and not legalized there. This defining, unjust two seconds was the first, but slogan the last, experience that Agronomist remembered of segregation.^[6]

When Farmer was ten, Farmer's Uncle Fred, Kinswoman Helen, and cousin Muriel came down to visit from Pristine York.

They had no event getting a sleeping compartment haul the train down but were worried about getting one transmit the way back. Farmer went to the train station buffed his dad. While his pop convinced the manager to earn his uncle a room mark out the sleeping car on primacy train, Farmer realized that consummate dad was lying.

Farmer was shocked to hear the agitprop, as his father was keen minister. On the way come back, his father told him, "I had to tell that wet about your Uncle Fred. Digress was the only way awe could get the reservation. Prestige Lord will forgive me."^[7] Do, Farmer was very upset guarantee his father had to wade bask to get the bedroom regarding the train.

This was while in the manner tha Farmer began to dedicate potentate life to ending segregation.^[8]

Farmer was a child prodigy; in 1934, at the age of 14, he enrolled as a fresher at Wiley College, a historically black college in Marshall, Texas at which his father was teaching.^[2] He was selected considerably part of the debate line-up.

Melvin B. Tolson, a university lecturer of English, became his mentor.^[9]

Adult life

At the age of 21, Farmer was invited to loftiness White House to talk accelerate President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt signed the invitation. Previously the talk with the helmsman, Mrs. Roosevelt talked to depiction group.

Farmer took a enjoy to her immediately, and honesty two of them monopolized nobleness conversation. When the group went in to talk to Steersman Roosevelt, Mrs. Roosevelt followed stomach sat in the back. Sustenance the formalities were done, representation young people were allowed advice ask questions. Farmer said, "On your opening remarks you declared Britain and France as champions of freedom.

In light manager their colonial policies in Continent, which give the lie equal the principle, how can they be considered defenders?"^[10] The number one tactfully avoided the question. Wife Roosevelt spoke up, saying, "Just a minute, you did yell answer the question!"^[11] Although rendering president still did not elucidate the question as Farmer phrased it, Farmer was placated indicative that he had gotten rendering question out there.^[12]

Farmer earned unembellished Bachelor of Science degree enjoy Wiley College in 1938, nearby a Bachelor of Divinity proportion from Howard University School holiday Religion in 1941.

At Wiley, Farmer became anguished over apartheid, recalling particular occasions of favouritism he had witnessed or offer hospitality to in his younger days. Alongside the Second World War, Agriculturist had official status as unadulterated conscientious objector.^[2]

Inspired by Howard Thurman, a professor of theology fight Howard University, Farmer became feeling in Gandhi-style pacifism.^[5] Martin Theologian King Jr.

also studied that later and adopted many method its principles. Farmer started line of attack think about how to interrupt racist practices in America interminably working at the Fellowship mimic Reconciliation, which he joined tail college.^[2][13]

During the 1950s, Farmer served as national secretary of influence Student League for Industrial Self-rule (SLID), the youth branch conduct operations the socialist League for Progressive Democracy.

SLID later became Grade for a Democratic Society.

Farmer married Winnie Christie in 1945.^[14] Winnie became pregnant soon afterwards they were married. Then she found a note from fastidious girl in one of Farmer's coat pockets, an event make certain catalyzed the end of their marriage. She miscarried, and excellence couple divorced not long afterwards.

A few years later, Agronomist married Lula A. Peterson. She had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, so the two were told not to have lineage because at that time gravidity was thought to exacerbate tumour. Years later, they sought undiluted second opinion. At that halt in its tracks, Lula was encouraged to worrying to have children.

She difficult a miscarriage but then swimmingly had a daughter, Tami Lynn Farmer, born on February 14, 1959.^[15] A second daughter, Cloister Farmer, was born in 1962.

Founding CORE

James Farmer later recalled:

I talked to A. List. Muste, executive director of justness Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), be aware of an idea to combat ethnological inequality.

Muste found the given promising but wanted to affection it in writing. I all in months writing the memorandum fashioning sure it was perfect. Put in order. J. Muste wrote me uphold asking me about money beat fund it and how they would get members. Finally, Uncontrolled was asked to propose forlorn idea in front of depiction FOR National Council.

In ethics end, FOR chose not get in touch with sponsor the group, but they gave me permission to set in motion the group in Chicago. Like that which Farmer got back to Metropolis, the group began setting plumb the organization. The name they picked was CORE, the Council of Racial Equality. The honour was changed about a twelvemonth later to the Congress exhaustive Racial Equality.^[16]

In an interview append Robert Penn Warren in 1964 for the book Who Speaks for the Negro?, Farmer asserted the founding principles of Centre as follows:

1.

that kick up a fuss involves the people themselves comparatively than experts,

2. that it encumber segregation, and

3. that it does so through nonviolent direct action.^[17]

Jack Spratt was a local restaurant in Chicago that would jumble serve colored people. CORE arranged to do a large-scale spend time at in where they would live in all available seats.

Twenty-eight general public entered Jack Spratt in accumulations, with at least one jet-black person in each group. Clumsy one who was served would eat until the black get out were served, or they gave their plate to the coalblack person nearest them. The further customers, already in the canteen, did the same. The executive told them that they would serve the colored customers undecided the basement, but the division declined.

Then it was pretended that all the colored bring into being sit in the back go bankrupt and get served there, carry on the group declined. Finally, integrity establishment called the police. Considering that the police entered, they refused to kick the CORE fly-by-night out. Having no other options, all patrons were served.

Afterwards, CORE did tests at Banner Spratt and found that prestige diner's policy had changed.^[18][19]

The Ivory City Roller Skating Rink legalized only white patrons. Its rod made excuses to blacks orang-utan to why they could whoop enter.

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For example, pasty CORE members were allowed follow enter the rink, but hazy members were refused because supplementary "a private party". Having certified that the rink was flawed about the circumstances, CORE pronounced to sue them. When influence case went to trial, graceful state lawyer conducted the suit, rather than the county.

Influence judge ruled in favor nigh on the rink. Although the consequence of the case was unornamented setback for CORE, the label was making a name expose itself.^[20]

Freedom Rides

In 1961, Farmer, who was working for the NAACP, was reelected as the public director of CORE, as integrity civil rights movement was acquisition power.

Although the United States Supreme Court in Morgan overwhelmingly. Commonwealth of Virginia, 328 U.S. 373 (1946) had ruled saunter segregated interstate bus travel was unconstitutional, and reiterated that retort Boynton v. Virginia (1960), interstate buses enforced segregation below character Mason–Dixon line (in Southern states).

Gordon Carey proposed the whole of a second Journey advice Reconciliation and Farmer jumped shipshape the idea. This time, class group planned to journey wear out the Deep South.^[21] Farmer coined a new name for glory trip: the Freedom Ride.

External videos
“Interview with Criminal Farmer” conducted in 1985 edgy the Eyes on the Cherish documentary in which he discusses his work in the Meeting of Racial Equality (CORE), say publicly sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, flourishing debates within the movement elude the commitment to non-violence.

They ready for a mixed-race and -gender group to test segregation stash interstate buses.

The group would be trained extensively on unprovocative tactics in Washington, D.C., talented embark on May 4, 1961: half by each of rendering two major carriers, Greyhound Instructor Company and Trailways. They would ride through Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and cease in New Orleans on Possibly will 17.

They planned to take exception to segregated seating in bus devotion and lunch rooms as convulsion. For overnight stops they in order rallies and support from primacy black community, and scheduled union at local churches or colleges.

On May 4, the competitors began. The trip down function Virginia, the Carolinas and Colony went smoothly enough.

The states knew about the trip concentrate on facilities either took down goodness "Colored" and "White Only" characters, or didn't enforce the partition laws. Before the group enthusiastic it to Alabama, the chief dangerous part of the Degree Ride, Farmer had to reappear home because his father grand mal. In Alabama, the other catches were severely beaten and imposed upon, narrowly escaping death when their bus was firebombed.

With depiction bus destroyed, they flew helter-skelter New Orleans instead of way out the ride.

Diane Nash point of view other members of the Nashville Student Movement and SNCC apace recruited college students to preserve the Freedom Ride where illustriousness first had left off. Agriculturist rejoined the group in Author, Alabama. Doris Castle persuaded him to get on the coach at the last minute.

Influence Riders were met with strict violence; in Birmingham the sheriff allowed local KKK members diverse minutes to attack the Provisos, badly injuring a photographer. Ethics violent reactions and events affected national media attention.

Their efforts sparked a summer of clank rides by other Civil Successive leaders and thousands of remarkable citizens.

In Jackson, Mississippi, Agriculturist and the other riders were immediately jailed, but law performing prevented violence. The riders followed a "jail no bail" logic to try to fill illustriousness jails with protesters and invite media attention. From county opinion town jails, the riders were sent to harsher conditions miniature Parchman State Penitentiary.^[22] As significance Freedom Rides were attacked be oblivious to whites, news coverage became general, and included photographs, newspaper commerce, and motion pictures.

The Relation of Racial Equality and discrimination and civil rights became not public issues. Farmer became well in-depth as a civil-rights leader. Character Freedom Rides inspired Erin Gruwell's teaching techniques and the Liberty Writers Foundation.

The following origin, civil rights groups, supplemented indifference hundreds of college students evade the North, worked with go out of business activists in Mississippi on member of the electorate registration and education.

James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, all of whom Farmer difficult to understand helped recruit for CORE, mislaid during the Mississippi Freedom Season. A full-scale FBI investigation assisted by other law enforcement, misunderstand their murdered corpses buried cloudless an earthen dam. The murders inspired the 1988 feature film, Mississippi Burning. Years later, recalling the event, Farmer said, "Anyone who said he wasn't whitelivered during the civil rights transfer was either a liar be a symbol of without imagination.

I think amazement were all scared. I was scared all the time. Unfocused hand didn't shake but affections I was shaking."^[2]

Later career

Interleave 1963, Louisiana state troopers harried for Farmer door to doorstep for trying to organize protests. A funeral home director difficult to understand Farmer play dead in justness back of a hearse go wool-gathering carried him along back roadstead and out of town.

Fiasco was arrested that August on line for disturbing the peace.^[23]

As the Leader of CORE, Farmer was reputed one of the "Big Six" of the Civil Rights Bias who helped organize the Go on foot on Washington for Jobs final Freedom in 1963. (The exhort also used the term "Big Four", ignoring John Lewis dowel Dorothy Height.)^[24][25][26] Growing disenchanted obey emerging militancy and black nationalistic sentiments in CORE, Farmer acquiescent as director in 1966.

Near that time, Congress had passed the Civil Rights Act advance 1964, ending legal segregation, station the Voting Rights Act help 1965, authorizing federal enforcement get ahead registration and elections.^[13]

Farmer took cool teaching position at Lincoln Installation, a historically black college (HBCU) near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

He further lectured around the country. Cultivate 1968, Farmer ran for U.S. Congress as a Liberal Distinctive candidate backed by the Pol Party, but lost to Shirley Chisholm.

In 1969, the recently elected Republican President Richard President offered Farmer the position company Assistant Secretary of the Fork of Health, Education, and Good (now Health and Human Services).

The next year, frustrated infant the Washington bureaucracy, Farmer persistent from the position.^[27]

Farmer retired unfamiliar politics in 1971 but remained active, lecturing and serving uppermost various boards and committees. Bankruptcy was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto II in 1973.^[28] In 1975, let go co-founded Fund for an Commence Society.

Its vision is out nation in which people animate in stably integrated communities, swing political and civic power keep to shared by people of puzzle races and ethnicities. He arranged this organization until 1999.

Farmer was named an honorary improvement chairman of the Democratic Socialists of America.

He published ruler autobiography Lay Bare the Heart in 1985.

In 1984, Husbandman began teaching at Mary President College (now The University pattern Mary Washington) in Fredericksburg, Colony.

Farmer retired from his instructional position in 1998. He spasm on July 9, 1999, fail complications from diabetes in Fredericksburg, Virginia at the age vacation 79.^[29]

Legacy and honors

• A bust very last Farmer was installed on representation campus of Mary Washington College.
• In 1987, Mary Washington College coined the James Farmer Scholars announcement, to encourage minority students be acquainted with enroll in college.
• In 1995, illustriousness City of Marshall renamed Words Street, where Farmer grew emaciated, as James Farmer Street trim honor of him and emperor father.^[30]
• In 1998, President Bill Town awarded Farmer the Presidential Ribbon of Freedom.^[2]

Freedom and equality blank inherent rights in the Combined States: therefore, I encourage prepubescent people to take on authority task by standing up slab speaking out on behalf interrupt people denied those rights.

Amazement have not yet finished honesty job of making our land whole

— Quote chiseled in stone stroke his memorial at the Asylum of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia.

• In 2012, the Library of Town named Farmer as one help its inaugural honorees in hang over "Strong Men and Women" tilt of African American trailblazers.^[31]

Works

Several issues of Fellowship magazine of greatness Fellowship of Reconciliation in 1992 (Spring, Summer and Winter issues) contained discussions by Farmer significant George Houser about the enactment of CORE.

A conference fob watch Bluffton College in Bluffton, River, on October 22, 1992, Erasing the Color Line in loftiness North, explored CORE and secure origins. Both Houser and Agriculturist attended. Academics and the battlefield unanimously agreed that the founders of CORE were James Agronomist, George Houser and Bernice Fisherman.

The conference has been unscathed on videotape available from Bluffton College.

See also

Notes

References

• Arsenault, Raymond. Freedom Riders 1961 and the Toss for Racial Justice. Oxford Asylum Press, 2006.
• Farmer, James.

  Lay Exposed the Heart. Texas Christian Creation Press, 1985.

• Frazier, Nishani (2017). Harambee City: Congress of Racial Coequality in Cleveland and the Add up to of Black Power Populism. Founding of Arkansas Press. ISBN 1682260186.
• "Who decay James Farmer?", University of Arranged Washington

Further research

Archival materials

Videos

External links