James Farmer
(1920-1999)
civil rights leader, founder of the Congress of Racial Equality (from 1942), Assistant Secretary in the US Deparment of Health, Education, and Welfare (1969-1970), and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient (from 1998)
Family tree
Commemorated on 1 plaque
Texas Historical Marker #15236
James L. Farmer, Jr. (Jan. 12, 1920-Jul. 9, 1999) Civil rights leader James Leonard Farmer, Jr., son of Pearl (Houston) and Dr. James L. Farmer, Sr., lived here as a child from 1925-30. James, Sr. taught at Samuel Huston College (now Huston-Tillotson University). In 1942, James, Jr. founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), which trained civil rights leaders in Ghandi-inspired nonviolent civil disobedience tactics to protest racial discrimination. Under Farmer's leadership, CORE organized the 1961 "Freedom Riders" to desegregate interstate transportation in the Deep South. Farmer was an Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Deparment of Health, Education, and Welfare (1969-1970). He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998. (2008) #15236
1604 New York Ave., Austin, TX, United States where they lived (1925-1930)