George Houser

George Mills Houser (June 2, 1916 – August 19, 2015) was an American Methodist minister, civil rights activist, and activist for the independence of African nations. He served on the staff of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (1940s – 1950s).

With James Farmer and Bernice Fisher, he co-founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 1942 in Chicago. With Bayard Rustin, another FOR staffer, Houser co-led the Journey of Reconciliation, a form of non-violent direct action, a two-week interracial bus journey challenging segregation. It was a model for the 1961 Freedom Rides that CORE later organized through the Deep South.

George Houser was born in 1916 to parents who were Methodist missionaries. As a child, he spent several years with them in the Far East, largely in the Philippines<oral history, 1999, Sheila Michaels, Columbia University archives>. He attended Union Theological Seminary, where he served as chairman of the school's social action commission. Houser, along with David Dellinger, was among twenty Union students who announced publicly that they would defy the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. In November 1940 Houser was arrested for refusing to be drafted. He served a year in jail.

After college, Houser was ordained as a Methodist minister. He soon became involved in movements for social justice and civil rights.

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