Forman, James, 1928-2005

Social activist and organizer James Forman was born on October 4, 1928, in Chicago. He spent much of his childhood with his grandmother on a farm in Marshall County, Mississippi. His grandmother stressed the importance of education and his experiences in the segregated South proved very important in his developing social consciousness.

Forman completed high school in 1947. He attended Chicago's Wilson Junior College before joining the U.S. Air Force. After completing four years of military service, Forman enrolled at the University of Southern California. At the beginning of his second semester, Forman was beaten and arrested by the police. He then transferred to Chicago's Roosevelt University where he became a leader in student politics. Forman graduated in 1957 and attended Boston University as a graduate student.

During the late 1950s, Forman gradually became involved in the budding Civil Rights Movement. In 1958, he traveled to Little Rock, Arkansas, to cover the school desegregation crisis for the Chicago Defender. In 1960, he joined the Congress of Racial Equality, providing relief services to sharecroppers in Tennessee who had been evicted for registering to vote. That same year, he met several of the Freedom Riders, who in turn asked Forman to work with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. In 1961, Forman moved south, joined SNCC, and began working full time for the Civil Rights Movement.

Forman's organizational skills, as well as his maturity and experience, thrust him into a leadership role at SNCC, where he supervised staff and directed fundraising. He served as SNCC's executive secretary from 1964 to 1966. Forman left SNCC in 1968 to assist in increasing the economic development opportunities for black communities. Remaining an activist, Forman served as president of the Unemployment and Poverty Action Committee. He later returned to academia, obtaining his M.A. degree from Cornell University in 1980 and his Ph.D. from the Union of Experimental Colleges and Universities.

Since 1968, Forman has published several books, including Sammy Younge, Jr., The Making of Black Revolutionaries; Liberation Viendra d'une Chose Noir; The Political Thought of James Forman; and Self-Determination: An Examination of the Question & its Application to the African-American People.

Forman passed away on January 10, 2005.

Author, journalist, and civil rights leader.

From the description of James Forman papers, 1848-2005 (bulk 1961-2001). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 498421203

Biographical Note

• 1928, Oct. 4: Born, Chicago, Ill.
• 1947 - 1951 : Served, United States Air Force
• 1950: Married Mary Sears (divorced 1956)
• 1957: B.A., Roosevelt University, Chicago, Ill.
• 1958: Attended African Research and Studies Program, Boston University, Boston, Mass.
• 1958 - 1959 : Journalist, Chicago Defender, covering events in Little Rock, Ark.
• 1959: Married Mildred Thompson (divorced 1965)
• 1959 - 1960 : Attended Chicago Teachers College, Chicago, Ill.
• 1959 - 1961 : Public school teacher, Chicago, Ill.
• 1960: Worked with the Emergency Relief Committee of the Congress for Racial Equality, in Fayette County, Tenn. Wrote press releases for the Chicago Defender about his work with the Relief Committee
• 1961 - 1966 : Executive secretary, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
• 1966 - 1969 : Director, International Affairs Commission of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, New York, N.Y.
• 1968: Minister of foreign affairs, Black Panther Party Published Liberation Viendra d'une Chose Noir. Paris: F. Maspero Published Sammy Younge, Jr.: The First Black College Student to Die in the Black Liberation Movement. New York: Grove Press
• 1969: Gave speech about the “Black Manifesto,” Riverside Church, New York, N.Y.
• 1969 - 1970 : Field director, Black Economic Development Conference
• 1970: Published Political Thought of James Forman. Detroit: Black Star Publishing Co.
• 1972: Published Law and Order. New York: T. Nelson Published Making of Black Revolutionaries: A Personal Account. New York: Macmillan
• 1974: Founder and publisher, Black America News Service
• 1974 - 2004 : President, Unemployment and Poverty Action Committee
• 1980: M.A., African American Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
• 1981: Founder, Washington Times Published Self-Determination and the African-American People. Seattle: Open Hand Publishing
• 1982: Ph.D., Union of Experimental Colleges and Universities with the Institute for Policy Studies, Cincinnati, Ohio
• 1983: President, Unemployed Poverty Action Council, Legal Defense, Education, and Research Fund, Inc. Candidate, school board position from Ward 1, District of Columbia
• 1984 - 1986 : Adams-Morgan Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, District of Columbia
• 1987: Ran unsuccessfully for Democratic Party shadow senator, District of Columbia
• 1990: Recipient, Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom Award of the National Conference of Black America Ran unsuccessfully for Democratic Party shadow senator, District of Columbia
• 1994: Published High Tide of Black Resistance and Other Political and Literary Writings. Seattle: Open Hand Publishing Ran unsuccessfully for Democratic Party shadow senator, District of Columbia
• 2005, Jan. 10: Died, Washington, D.C.

From the guide to the James Forman Papers, 1848-2005, (bulk 1961-2001), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)