James Farmer

In 1945, James Farmer got married to Winnie Christie, who became pregnant with their child soon after marriage. However, after she found a note from a girl in his coat pocket, their relationship went on a downward spiral and eventually ended in divorce in 1946, soon after her miscarriage.

His second marriage was in 1949 to Lula A. Peterson who, after being diagnosed with Hodgkins disease, was told not to have children as at that time doctors thought pregnancy would aggravate cancer. They sought a second opinion a few years later and despite a miscarriage, were able to give birth to two daughters, Tami Lynn Farmer (1959) and Abbey Farmer (1962).

In 1984, he began teaching at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and published his autobiography 'Lay Bare the Heart' in 1985. He retired in 1988.

James Leonard Farmer Jr. was born on January 12, 1920 in Marshall, Texas, to James L. Farmer Sr. and Pearl Houston. His mother was a homemaker and former teacher, while his father was a professor at Wiley College, a historically black college, and a Methodist minister.

He was exposed to racial discrimination early on in his life when, at the age of three or four, he learnt that he cannot buy Coke at certain stores for being a person of color. At 10, he witnessed his minister father lie to the station manager to secure a train reservation for his Uncle Fred and his family who had come down to visit from New York.

A child prodigy, he became a freshman at Wiley College in 1934 at the age of 14. He initially wanted to pursue a career in medicine and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1938. However, he later decided to follow his father in ministerial work and also earned a Bachelor of Divinity from Howard University School of Religion in 1941.

At Wiley College, he was selected as part of the debate team and was mentored by Melvin B. Tolson, a professor of English. During this time, he became anguished over segregation and racism, and had official status as a conscientious objector during World War II.

At Howard University, James Farmer was inspired by theology professor Howard Thurman to learn about the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, which were also adopted by Martin Luther King Jr. later. After college, he decided against working in a segregated church and took job with the New York-based pacifist group, Fellowship of Reconciliation, which assigned him to Chicago.

While serving as the race relations secretary of FOR (1941-1945), he began to write his 'Provisional Plan for Brotherhood Mobilization', envisioning a movement based on Gandhi's nonviolent principles. He made proposals to FOR leaders suggesting the formation of a committee dedicated to racial equality, which was initially called Committee of Racial Equality and later renamed the Congress of Racial Equality.

He served as the national chairman of CORE from 1942 to 1944, and again in 1950. He also worked as a labor union organizer between 1945 and 1959, and for the next two years, worked as a program director for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

In February 1961, he was called back to CORE, being elected the national director of the organization, and was entrusted with the responsibility of leading the 'freedom ride'. CORE was inspired to sponsor the freedom rides following several rulings by the Supreme Court declaring segregation unconstitutional in interstate buses and terminals.

Despite the court rulings, southern states continued to use segregated seating and facilities for blacks. In 1961, 13 CORE freedom riders decided to embark on a nonviolent historic trip from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans.

James Farmer co-founded CORE in 1942 and was the initiator and organizer of the 1961 Freedom Ride. By the time he resigned as the director of CORE in 1966, Congress had already passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.