James farmer sr biography

James L. Farmer Sr. was born June 12, 1886. He was an African-American educator, administrator, minister, and historian. What makes Farmer’s story so unique is the determination he demonstrated in order to receive a higher education. He walked from his home in Georgia to Boston University after receiving a scholarship to attend the school. Farmer would later become the first African American in Texas to hold a PhD.

James Leonard Farmer’s parents were former slaves. The grade school he attended was in Pearson, Georgia. During his youth there was no high school for blacks. However, Farmer was able to acquire a working scholarship from Mary McCloud Bethune to the Cookman Institute in Daytona Beach, Fla. He was a straight-A student, and later because of his academic success was awarded four hundred dollars in scholarships to attend Boston University. There was no money for traveling expenses, and nothing to hitch a ride with except for a horse and wagon. So, Farmer “walked” all the way from Georgia to Boston, Massachusetts to Boston University. He slept in barns of farmers who kindly allowed him to do so; he occasionally shared a meal with families if welcomed by the woman and man of the home.

Farmer earned his Bachelors in 1913, his Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1916 and his Ph.D. in 1918. He worked full time as a valet and carriage boy for a wealthy white woman, sending money home to support his parents. Because Boston University required two years of residency to earn a Ph.D., Farmer, who had completed the course work and written his dissertation in a year, entered Harvard University in 1917 to do graduate study.

Farmer also became an ordained deacon, which was the first step to becoming a Methodist minister. He married in 1918 and was a candidate to study abroad in Switzerland, but World War I made it difficult. He later became an elder in Texas and spent th

American civil rights activist (1920–1999)

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

James Leonard Farmer Jr. (January 12, 1920 – July 9, 1999) was an American 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 first Freedom Ride in 1961, which eventually led to the desegregation of interstate transportation in the United States.

In 1942, Farmer co-founded the Committee of Racial Equality in Chicago along with George Houser, James R. Robinson, Samuel E. Riley, Bernice Fisher, Homer Jack, and Joe Guinn. 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.

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."

Biography

Early life

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.

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 an

About James Farmer

Dr. James L. Farmer, Jr. was born on January 12, 1920 in Marshall, Texas. He earned national prominence as one of the foremost leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Some of his other outstanding accomplishments include:

• 1942 – Organized the nation’s first civil rights sit-in in Chicago
• 1942 – Founded the Congress of Racial Equality, also known as CORE
• 1960s – Established as one of the “Big Four” of the Civil Rights Movement along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney Young, and Roy Wilkins.
• 1961 – Organized the “Freedom Rides” to desegregate interstate bus travel.
• 1969 -1970 – Served as the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, & Welfare.
• 1985 – Wrote and published his autobiography Lay Bare The Heart.
• 1985 -1998 – Served as Distinguished Professor of History and American Studies at Mary Washington College.
• 1997 – Awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters by Mary Washington College.
• 1998 – Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Clinton; Mary Washington College’s Multicultural Center was renamed the James Farmer Multicultural Center.

On July 9, 1999, Dr. Farmer passed away at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He is survived by two daughters, Tami Farmer Gonzalez and Abbey Farmer, and granddaughter Abigale Elizabeth Gonzalez.

For more information about Dr. Farmer and his legacy, visit any of the following UMW websites:

View a timeline of Dr. James Farmer’s life created by the UMW Libraries.

The James Farmer Hall Renaming Project

James Farmer Project – Quotes, Biographical Information

James Farmer Lecture Blog – Dr. Farmer’s Lecture Audio/Video Recordings

50th Commemoration of the Freedom Rides

American author, theologian, and educator

James Leonard Farmer Sr. (June 12, 1886 – May 14, 1961), known as J. Leonard Farmer, was an American author, theologian, and educator. He was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and an academic in early religious history as well as theology.

Early life and education

James Leonard Farmer was the son of farm workers and former slaves from Kingstree, South Carolina. His father was Carolina and his mother Lorena (Wilson) Farmer. After limited schooling in Georgia and Florida, Farmer gained a scholarship to Boston University. He earned his bachelor, masters of theology, and doctoral degrees at this institution.

Career

Farmer had a dual career as a minister and an academic. He was ordained as a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He taught and mentored as a professor at several historically black colleges and universities in the South, including Huston-Tillotson and Wiley colleges in Texas; Rust College in Mississippi; and most notably Howard University in Washington, DC, from 1939 to 1946, returning to Texas to Huston as dean until his retirement in 1956. During this period, he served as an administrator as well as a professor.

Marriage and family

In 1917 Farmer married Pearl Marion. They had two children: Helen Louise and James Farmer. Their son became a renowned civil rights leader during the Civil Rights Movement. A proponent of non-violent action, his son James Farmer was a co-founder of the Congress for Racial Equality and helped organize the Freedom Rides of 1961.

Representation in popular culture

References

External links