James Farmer
James L Farmer Jr. | |
---|---|
1st National Director of the Congress of Racial Equality | |
In office 1942–1966 | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Floyd McKissick |
Personal details | |
Born | James Leonard Farmer Jr. January 12, 1920 Marshall, Texas, US |
Died | July 9, 1999 Fredericksburg, Virginia, US | (aged 79)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) |
Winnie Christie
(m. 1945–1946)Lula Peterson (m. 1949–1977) |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | James L. Farmer Sr. (father) |
Education | Wiley University (BS) Howard University (BDiv) |
James Leonard Farmer Jr. (January 12, 1920 – July 9, 1999) was an American civil rights activist and leader in the
In 1942, Farmer co-founded the Committee of Racial Equality in
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."[2][3][4]
Biography
Early life
James L. Farmer Jr. was born in
When Farmer was a young boy, about three or four, he wanted a Coca-Cola when he was out in town with his mother. His mother had adamantly told him no, that he had to wait until they got home. Farmer wanted a Coke immediately and enviously watched another young boy go inside and buy one. His mother told him the other boy could buy the Coke at that store because he was white, but Farmer was a person of color and not allowed there. This defining, unjust moment was the first, but not the last, experience that Farmer remembered of segregation.[6]
When Farmer was ten, Farmer's Uncle Fred, Aunt Helen, and cousin Muriel came down to visit from New York. They had no trouble getting a sleeping compartment on the train down but were worried about getting one on the way back. Farmer went to the train station with his dad. While his father convinced the manager to give his uncle a room in the sleeping car on the train, Farmer realized that his dad was lying. Farmer was shocked to hear the lies, as his father was a minister. On the way back, his father told him, "I had to tell that lie about your Uncle Fred. That was the only way we could get the reservation. The Lord will forgive me."[7] Still, Farmer was very upset that his father had to lie to get the bedroom on the train. This was when Farmer began to dedicate his life to ending segregation.[8]
Farmer was a child prodigy; in 1934, at the age of 14, he enrolled as a freshman at Wiley College, a
Adult life
At the age of 21, Farmer was invited to the White House to talk with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt signed the invitation. Before the talk with the president, Mrs. Roosevelt talked to the group. Farmer took a liking to her immediately, and the two of them monopolized the conversation. When the group went in to talk to President Roosevelt, Mrs. Roosevelt followed and sat in the back. After the formalities were done, the young people were allowed to ask questions. Farmer said, "On your opening remarks you described Britain and France as champions of freedom. In light of their colonial policies in Africa, which give the lie to the principle, how can they be considered defenders?"[10] The president tactfully avoided the question. Mrs Roosevelt spoke up, saying, "Just a minute, you did not answer the question!"[11] Although the president still did not answer the question as Farmer phrased it, Farmer was placated knowing that he had gotten the question out there.[12]
Farmer earned a
Inspired by Howard Thurman, a professor of theology at Howard University, Farmer became interested in Gandhi-style pacifism.[5] Martin Luther King Jr. also studied this later and adopted many of its principles. Farmer started to think about how to stop racist practices in America while working at the Fellowship of Reconciliation, which he joined after college.[2][13]
During the 1950s, Farmer served as national secretary of the
Farmer married Winnie Christie in 1945.[14] Winnie became pregnant soon after they were married. Then she found a note from a girl in one of Farmer's coat pockets, an event that catalyzed the end of their marriage. She miscarried, and the couple divorced not long afterward.
A few years later, Farmer married Lula A. Peterson. She had been diagnosed with
Founding CORE
James Farmer later recalled:
I talked to A. J. Muste, executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), about an idea to combat racial inequality. Muste found the idea promising but wanted to see it in writing. I spent months writing the memorandum making sure it was perfect. A. J. Muste wrote me back asking me about money to fund it and how they would get members. Finally, I was asked to propose my idea in front of the FOR National Council. In the end, FOR chose not to sponsor the group, but they gave me permission to start the group in Chicago. When Farmer got back to Chicago, the group began setting up the organization. The name they picked was CORE, the Committee of Racial Equality. The name was changed about a year later to the Congress of Racial Equality.[16]
In an interview with Robert Penn Warren in 1964 for the book Who Speaks for the Negro?, Farmer described the founding principles of CORE as follows:
- 1. that it involves the people themselves rather than experts,
- 2. that it rejects segregation, and
- 3. that it does so through nonviolent direct action.[17]
Jack Spratt was a local diner in Chicago that would not serve colored people. CORE decided to do a large-scale sit in where they would occupy all available seats. Twenty-eight persons entered Jack Spratt in groups, with at least one black person in each group. No one who was served would eat until the black people were served, or they gave their plate to the black person nearest them. The other customers, already in the diner, did the same. The manager told them that they would serve the colored customers in the basement, but the group declined. Then it was proposed that all the colored people sit in the back corner and get served there, again the group declined. Finally, the establishment called the police. When the police entered, they refused to kick the CORE group out. Having no other options, all patrons were served. Afterward, CORE did tests at Jack Spratt and found that the diner's policy had changed.[18][19]
The White City Roller Skating Rink allowed only white patrons. Its staff made excuses to blacks as to why they could not enter. For example, white CORE members were allowed to enter the rink, but black members were refused because of "a private party". Having documented that the rink was lying about the circumstances, CORE decided to sue them. When the case went to trial, a state lawyer conducted the prosecution, rather than the county. The judge ruled in favor of the rink. Although the outcome of the case was a setback for CORE, the group was making a name for itself.[20]
Freedom Rides
In 1961, Farmer, who was working for the NAACP, was reelected as the national director of CORE, as the civil rights movement was gaining power. Although the United States Supreme Court in Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 328 U.S. 373 (1946) had ruled that segregated interstate bus travel was unconstitutional, and reiterated that in Boynton v. Virginia (1960), interstate buses enforced segregation below the Mason–Dixon line (in Southern states). Gordon Carey proposed the idea of a second Journey of Reconciliation and Farmer jumped at the idea. This time, the group planned to journey through the Deep South.[21] Farmer coined a new name for the trip: the Freedom Ride.
External videos | |
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“Interview with James Farmer” conducted in 1985 for the Eyes on the Prize documentary in which he discusses his work in the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, and debates within the movement over the commitment to non-violence. |
They planned for a mixed-race and -gender group to test segregation on interstate buses. The group would be trained extensively on nonviolent tactics in Washington, D.C., and embark on May 4, 1961: half by each of the two major carriers,
On May 4, the participants began. The trip down through Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia went smoothly enough. The states knew about the trip and facilities either took down the "Colored" and "White Only" signs, or didn't enforce the segregation laws. Before the group made it to Alabama, the most dangerous part of the Freedom Ride, Farmer had to return home because his father died. In Alabama, the other riders were severely beaten and abused, narrowly escaping death when their bus was firebombed. With the bus destroyed, they flew to New Orleans instead of finishing the ride.
Their efforts sparked a summer of similar rides by other
The following year, civil rights groups, supplemented by hundreds of college students from the North, worked with local activists in Mississippi on voter registration and education. James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, all of whom Farmer had helped recruit for CORE, disappeared during the Mississippi Freedom Summer. A full-scale FBI investigation aided by other law enforcement, found their murdered corpses buried in an earthen dam. The murders inspired the 1988 feature movie, Mississippi Burning. Years later, recalling the event, Farmer said, "Anyone who said he wasn't afraid during the civil rights movement was either a liar or without imagination. I think we were all scared. I was scared all the time. My hand didn't shake but inside I was shaking."[2]
Later career
In 1963, Louisiana state troopers hunted for Farmer door to door for trying to organize protests. A funeral home director had Farmer play dead in the back of a hearse that carried him along back roads and out of town. He was arrested that August for disturbing the peace.[23]
As the Director of CORE, Farmer was considered one of the "
Farmer took a teaching position at
In 1969, the newly elected Republican President
Farmer retired from politics in 1971 but remained active, lecturing and serving on various boards and committees. He was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto II in 1973.[28] In 1975, he co-founded Fund for an Open Society. Its vision is a nation in which people live in stably integrated communities, where political and civic power is shared by people of different races and ethnicities. He led this organization until 1999.
Farmer was named an honorary vice chairman of the Democratic Socialists of America.
He published his autobiography Lay Bare the Heart in 1985. In 1984, Farmer began teaching at Mary Washington College (now The University of Mary Washington) in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Farmer retired from his teaching position in 1998. He died on July 9, 1999, of complications from diabetes in Fredericksburg, Virginia at the age of 79.[29]
Legacy and honors
- A bust of Farmer was installed on the campus of Mary Washington College.
- In 1987, Mary Washington College created the James Farmer Scholars program, to encourage minority students to enroll in college.
- In 1995, the City of Marshall renamed Barney Street, where Farmer grew up, as James Farmer Street in honor of him and his father.[30]
- In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded Farmer the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[2]
Freedom and equality are inherent rights in the United States: therefore, I encourage young people to take on the task by standing up and speaking out on behalf of people denied those rights. We have not yet finished the job of making our country whole
— Quote chiseled in stone at his memorial at the University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
- In 2012, the Library of Virginia named Farmer as one of its inaugural honorees in its "Strong Men and Women" series of African American trailblazers.[31]
- In 2020, the University of Mary Washington renamed the former Trinkle Hall to James Farmer Hall in honor of Dr. Farmer, who spent his final years as a professor of history at the university.[32]
Works
- Lay Bare the Heart: An Autobiography of the Civil Rights Movement. James Farmer, Penguin-Plume, 1986 ISBN 0-452-25803-0
- He wrote Religion and Racism but it has not been published.
- Freedom-When was published in 1965.[33]
Several issues of Fellowship magazine of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in 1992 (Spring, Summer and Winter issues) contained discussions by Farmer and
See also
Notes
- ^ Encyclopedia Virginia/Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ^ ISBN 1682260186
- ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths FARMER, JAMES". The New York Times. 13 July 1999.
- ^ a b Arsenault, p. 29
- ^ Farmer, p. 31
- ^ Farmer, p. 65
- ^ Farmer, p. 6
- ^ Farmer, pp. 117–21
- ^ Farmer, p. 69
- ^ Farmer, p. 70
- ^ Farmer, pp. 69–70
- ^ OCLC 973832475.
- ^ Beil, Gail K. (2012-07-11). "Farmer James Leonard Jr". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
- ^ Farmer
- ^ Arsenault, p. 30
- ^ Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities. "James Farmer Jr". Robert Penn Warren's Who Speaks for the Negro? Archive. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ^ Farmer, pp 106–08
- OCLC 973832475.
- ^ Farmer, pp. 108–09
- OCLC 973832475.
- ^ Farmer, pp. 185–214
- ^ Severo, Richard (July 10, 1999). "Jim Farmer." New York Times
- ^ Rosen, Sumber. "James Farmer, 1920–1999." Social Policy 20 no 2, 1999, pp. 47–50
- ^ Farmer, p. 215
- ^ Reed, Charles Jr. (September 24, 2007). "The Big Four". James Farmer & the Great Debaters. University of Mary Washington. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
- ^ Severo, Richard, "James Farmer, Civil Rights Giant In the 50s and 60s, Is Dead at 79"; The New York Times, July 10, 1999
- ^ "Humanist Manifesto II". American Humanist Association. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ^ "Civil Rights Leader James Farmer Dies". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
- ^ "James Farmer".
- ^ "Strong Men & Women · Virginia Changemakers".
- ^ "UMW Chooses New Name for Building: James Farmer Hall". 24 July 2020.
- ^ Who is James Farmer retrieved April 5, 2011 Archived April 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
References
- Arsenault, Raymond. Freedom Riders 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice. Oxford University Press, 2006.
- Farmer, James. Lay Bare the Heart. Texas Christian University Press, 1985.
- Frazier, Nishani (2017). Harambee City: Congress of Racial Equality in Cleveland and the Rise of Black Power Populism. University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 1682260186.
- "Who is James Farmer?", University of Mary Washington
Further research
- Archival materials
- James Leonard Jr. and Lula Peterson Farmer Papers. University of Texas Libraries. Accessed 2014.
- James Farmer Lectures at University of Mary Washington
- University of Mary Washington James Farmer Oral History Project
- Oral History Interviews with James Farmer, from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
- FBI file on James Farmer
- Videos
- Dr. James Farmer Jr. Civil Rights Documentary “The Good Fight” Fascinates And Educates, Movie Review from ShortFilmTexas.com
- You Don't Have to Ride Jim Crow! New Hampshire Public Television/American Public Television documentary of the Journey of Reconciliation
- Eyes on the Prize Blackside, Inc./PBS documentary of the Civil Rights Movement (Episode 3 is the Freedom Rides)
- Freedom Riders 50th anniversary documentary, PBS's American Experience
- James Farmer on the WGBH series The Ten O'Clock News
- The short film OPEN MIND Special: Race Relations in Crisis 6/12/63 – 11/13/92 (1963/1992) is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
External links
- Civil Rights Greensboro: James Farmer
- Biography at Encyclopedia Virginia
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Harambee City: Archival site incorporating big documents, maps, audio/visual materials related to CORE's work in black power and black economic development.
- Image of the United Civil Rights Committee at a march against de facto school segregation in Los Angeles, California, 1963. Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.