Farmer, James

Farmer, James (Leonard)

(1920– ) civil rights activist; born in Marshall, Texas. A founding member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 1942, he led student sit-ins and Freedom Bus rides, becoming CORE national director (1961–66). After serving as the executive director of the Coalition of American Public Employees (1972–82), he published Lay Bare the Heart: An Autobiography (1985), and became a professor at Mary Washington College (Fredericksburg, Va.).