James L. Farmer's guest appearances

James L. Farmer

BMA: Black Media Archive

Texas Originals

This Day in Quiztory

Barbara Jordan

Melvin B. Tolson

Ben Carson

Kim Coles

Oprah Winfrey

Russell Simmons

Tupac Shakur

Jacob Lawrence

Paul Robeson

John Singleton

Clarence Thomas

Curtis Mayfield

Chris Smith

Jonathan Scott

George Faison

OwlTail

Today we shine a spotlight on civil rights activist James L. Farmer, Jr. who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton

01.15_Civil Rights Activist James L. Farmer, Jr.

Civil rights leader James Farmer was born in Marshall, Texas, in 1920. Though he originally planned to become a Methodist minister, the influence of legendary teacher Melvin Tolson—and segregation within the church—led Farmer to activism. In 1942, Farmer organized the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in Chicago. A decade before the civil rights movement made headlines, CORE followed Gandhian principles of nonviolent direct action to fight racial discrimination, pioneering the tactics that eventually dismantled segregation in the South.

James L. Farmer Jr.