James Farmer
| James Farmer | |
|---|---|
Farmer in 1964
|
|
| 1st National director of the Congress of Racial Equality | |
|
In office 1942–1966 |
|
| Preceded by | Inaugural holder |
| Succeeded by | Floyd McKissick |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
James Leonard Farmer Jr. January 12, 1920 Marshall, Texas |
| Died | July 9, 1999 (aged 79) Fredericksburg, Virginia |
| Cause of death | Diabetes complications |
| Nationality | United States |
| Spouse(s) | Lula Peterson (1945–1977) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
James L. Farmer Sr. Pearl Houston |
| Alma mater | Wiley College |
| Occupation | Civil rights activist |
| Religion | Methodist |
James Leonard Farmer Jr. (January 12, 1920 – July 9, 1999) was a civil rights activist and leader in the Civil Rights Movement "who pushed for nonviolent protest to dismantle segregation, and served alongside Martin Luther King Jr." He was the initiator and organizer of the 1961 Freedom Ride, which eventually led to the desegregation of inter-state transportation in the United States.
In 1942, Farmer co-founded the Committee of Racial Equality in Chicago with George Houser and Bernice Fisher. It was later called the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and was dedicated to ending racial segregation in the United States through nonviolence. Farmer served as the national chairman from 1942 to 1944. He was an honorary vice chairman in the Democratic Socialists of America.
By the 1960s, Farmer was known as "one of the Big Four civil rights leaders in the 1960s, together with King, NAACP chief Roy Wilkins and Urban League head Whitney Young."
James L. Farmer Jr. was born in Marshall, Texas, to James L. Farmer, Sr. and Pearl Houston, who were both educators. His father was a professor at Wiley College, a historically black college, and a Methodist minister with a Ph.D. in theology from Boston University. His mother, a homemaker, was a graduate of Florida's Bethune-Cookman Institute and a former teacher.
...
Wikipedia