Farmer, James Leonard, Jr., 1920-1999
Name Entries
person
Farmer, James Leonard, Jr., 1920-1999
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
Surname :
Farmer
Forename :
James Leonard
NameAddition :
Jr.
Date :
1920-1999
eng
Latn
authorizedForm
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Biographical History
Civil rights leader, author, labor organizer, and teacher, James Leonard Farmer, Jr. was born on January 12, 1920, in Marshall, Texas. He earned degrees from Wiley College (1938) and the Howard University School of Divinity (1940). Farmer went on to found the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) which played a key role in the Civil Rights movement, particularly in launching the Freedom Rides in the summer of 1961. These bus rides tested the federal interstate transportation accommodations at bus terminals. Combined with other CORE non-violent acts, the Freedom Rides led in part to the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Bill of 1964, and to the Civil Rights Voting Act the following year. Farmer is widely recognized as one of the Civil Rights movement's "Big Four," along with Martin Luther King, Jr., Roy Wilkins of the NAACP, and Whitney Young of the National Urban League.
In 1998 President Bill Clinton awarded Farmer the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Farmer died on July 9, 1999.
eng
Latn
External Related CPF
https://viaf.org/viaf/22162973
https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n84129162
https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n84129162
https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q3806642
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Resource Relations
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Languages Used
eng
Latn
Subjects
Education
Education
African American civil rights workers
African Americans
African Americans
African Americans
Civil rights demonstrations
Civil rights demonstrations
Civil rights movement
Civil rights workers
Government employee unions
Housing
Housing
Labor unions
Literacy
Literacy
Nonviolence
Politicians
Politicians
Race
Segregation in transportation
Nationalities
Americans
Activities
Occupations
Civil rights workers
College teachers
Labor union members
Legal Statuses
Places
Marshall
TX, US
AssociatedPlace
Birth
Fredericksburg
VA, US
AssociatedPlace
Death
Convention Declarations
<conventionDeclaration><citation>VIAF</citation></conventionDeclaration>