James L. Farmer, Jr. Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Mary Washington
Special Collections and University Archives
Simpson Library
University of Mary Washington
1801 College Avenue
Fredericksburg, VA 22401-4665
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Sarah Appleby
Phone: (540) 654-2045
Fax: (540) 654-1067
Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Materials in the collection are for research and educational use only. Photographs, unpublished manuscripts, and other materials in the collection are protected by copyright. Permission to reproduce must be secured from the individual copyright holder. Users are responsible for determining if permission for re-use is necessary and for obtaining such permission.

Preferred citation:

Name of item or collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington.

Summary

Extent:
10 Linear Feet 10 document cases, 4 flat storage boxes, 1 record storage box
Creator:
Farmer, James, 1920-1999
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Name of item or collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington.

Background

Scope and content:

The James L. Farmer, Jr. Papers principally document Farmer's career at Mary Washington College (now University of Mary Washington), as well as his various additional political and social activities during that time. The papers were transferred from Farmer's home and office in Spotsylvania County. The papers include correspondence, printed materials, photographs, audiovisual materials, and other items reflective of his activities towards the end of his life, as well as memorials and reflections at the time of his death collected by others.

As the collection primarily documents the professional activities of James Farmer during his time at MWC, the bulk of the collection materials are from the 1990s. In earlier documentation, bulk dates for the collection appeared as 1980-1999. There are a few materials outside of this range, such as folders containing early CORE documents and others with photographs from the mid-1960s. Additionally, there are materials pertaining to events after Farmer's death, such as various items of tribute and information regarding the Farmer bust unveiling on campus.

Biographical / historical:

James Leonard Farmer, Jr. was born January 12, 1920 in Marshall, Texas. He was an exceedingly intelligent student and began attending Wiley College at age fourteen, graduating with his B.S. degree in 1938. From there he went to Howard University School of Divinity before obtaining his B.D. degree in 1941. Eventually, Farmer would become widely recognized as one of the "Big Four" of the civil rights movement. He founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 1942, and gained national recognition in the 1960s for his leadership of the "Freedom Rides" into the South. Farmer's non-violent acts played a significant role in the events leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 and the Civil Rights Voting Act of 1965.

James Farmer also forayed into politics, albeit briefly. He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1968, and from 1969-1970, he served in the Nixon administration as the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services). By 1971, Farmer returned his focus to activism and education.

In addition to his role as a renowned activist, Farmer was an author, a teacher, and a labor organizer. Beyond his leadership of CORE, he also held a position as honorary vice chairman of the Democratic Socialists of America, and was a co-founding member of the Fund for an Open Society, which promoted thriving racially and ethnically integrated communities. In 1985, he began teaching the history of Civil Rights as Commonwealth Professor of History and American Studies at Mary Washingon College. HE received the title of Distiguished Professor in 1987, which he held until his retirement in 1998. MWC awarded Farmer an honorary doctorate of humane letters in 1997. In 1998, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by President Bill Clinton.

Ill health troubled James Farmer for many of his later years. He would eventually lose both of his legs and his eyesight to diabetes, and passsed away from complications of the disease on July 9, 1999.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into twelve series based on material type and subject. 1. Awards and honors; 2. Biographical information; 3. Correspondence; 4. Manuscripts and transcripts; 5. Photographs; 6. General files; 7. Materials from professional organizations; 8. Printed materials; 9. Research and lecture materials; 10. Audiovisual materials; 11. Oversize and ephemera; 12. Artifacts. Some series also contain component sub-series. The contents of each series are arranged alphabetically with items within the series being arranged chronologically.

Physical / technical requirements:

Digitized access copies of AV materials can be made available for research use in the Special Collections reading room. Special Collections and University Archives is not equipped with the necessary playback devices to use original copies of the AV materials.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard