Who Is James Farmer Jr.?

When I think about the Civil Rights movement in America, I picture divided buses, schools, and restaurants, signs prohibiting "negros" from entering buildings, riots in the street, and, of course, Martin Luther King Jr. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech. One man I had never heard of before this ethnoviolence class was James Farmer Jr., one of the "Big 4" of the Civil Rights Movement. So, who is Mr. Farmer?

James was born in Marshall, Texas in January of 1920. He was the son of James Farmer Sr., a professor at Wiley College who also held a Ph.D. in Theology.

James Farmer Jr. was first introduced to the reality of segregation at a young age, when he was forbidden by his mother to buy a soda at a local store because of his race. It was, perhaps, this moment that sparked an unending fire of James to fight against segregation for the rest of his life. At the young age of 14, James Jr. enrolled in Wiley College and soon became the captain??? of the debate team. It was while participating in debate that James learned to effectively articulate his arguments against the rampant Jim Crow laws, which at that time invaded the South.

After his successful years at Wiley, in which he and his debate team defeated the Harvard University, Farmer moved on to further his work in the Civil Rights initiative. In 1942, Farmer co-founded the Committee of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E.), which sought to bring an end to racial segregation in America nonviolently.

Another initiative came in 1961, when Farmer began his involvement in the Freedom Rides, a plan for mixed races to test segregation (which, at that time, was ruled against) on interstate buses. The group, who traveled half by Trailways and the other half on Greyhound passed through Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and eventually ended in New Orleans. Though the riders faced harsh cruelty, violence, and discrimination in Alabama especially, their momentous journey raised awareness and inspired African Americans across the country to fight for their rights in times of deep despair.

After a long life of courage, trials, and triumph, James Farmer Jr. died in July of 1999 from diabetes complications.

In learning about the efforts of James Farmer Jr., I am deeply encouraged by a man who endured violence, hatred, and brutality for fighting for his rights as an American. Because I wasn't alive during the Civil Rights Movement, I often forget about the hardship that so many endured to be seen and treated as equals in our country. While Martin Luther King Jr. was definitely one of the most influential Civil Rights Activists of the 1960s, we must not forget the efforts of men like James Farmer Jr., who helped make the United States society what it is today.

To see a clip from The Great Debaters, featuring the young James Farmer Jr. at Wiley College, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-ORiYP3O9g