Homer A. Jack (May 19, 1916 – August 5, 1993) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

clergyman pacifist and social activist who helped found the

Congress of Racial Equality The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission is "to bring about ...

and

National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy Peace Action is a peace organization whose focus is on preventing the deployment of nuclear weapons in space, thwarting weapons sales to countries with human rights violations, and promoting a new United States foreign policy based on common secu ...

(SANE).

Early life and education

Jack was an only child to active

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

and freethinker parents. His grandparents had immigrated from central and eastern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

to escape oppression and poverty. Like his parents, the child Jack was a radical nature-worshiper who distrusted organized religion. He met Esther Rhys Williams at Munroe High School, in the early 1930s, and the two married in 1939. The marriage would produce two children and end in divorce in the early 1970s. Though in 1940 Jack received a Ph.D. in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, he decided to enter the Unitarian ministry. In 1944, he graduated from

Meadville Theological School The Meadville Lombard Theological School is a Unitarian Universalist seminary in Chicago, Illinois. History Meadville Lombard is a result of a merger in the 1930s between two institutions, a Unitarian seminary and a Universalist semina ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Career

While in Chicago, Jack led efforts and rallies to prevent the United States' entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and fought

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Intern ...

. He was active in the publication of Rochester's ''No-War News'' and the

Fellowship of Reconciliation The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR). ...

and helped organize the anti-war 1942 Chicago sit-in and the anti-segregation

Journey of Reconciliation The Journey of Reconciliation, also called "First Freedom Ride", was a form of nonviolent direct action to challenge state segregation laws on interstate buses in the Southern United States. Bayard Rustin and 18 other men and women were the ea ...

. From 1942 to 1943, he served as a Unitarian minister in Lawrence,

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

, where he spoke out against Lawrence's "violently anti-Negro and anti-labor" stance. He was the executive secretary of Chicago Council Against Racial and Religious Discrimination from 1943 to 1948, and from 1948 to 1959 served as the minister of the Unitarian Church of Evanston, Illinois. Jack co-founded and was the associate director of the American Committee on Africa from 1959 to 1960, co-founded and served as executive director to the

and

(SANE) from 1960 to 1964, and directed the Social Responsibility Department of the

Unitarian Universalist Association Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America, both ...

in Boston from 1964 to 1970. In that role, Jack convened the "Emergency Conference on Unitarian Universalist Response to the Black Rebellion" as an effort toward Black Empowerment in the UUA. From 1970 to 1983, he was the secretary general of the

World Conference of Religions for Peace Religions for Peace is an international coalition of representatives from the world's religions dedicated to promoting peace founded in 1970. The International Secretariat headquarters is in New York City, with regional conferences in Europe, As ...

in New York. Simultaneously, from 1973 to 1984, he chaired the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

Headquarters. In 1984, he served as a minister once again in Winnetka,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

, a position he would hold until 1989. That same year, he was awarded the

Niwano Peace Prize The Niwano Peace Prize is given to honor and encourage those devoting themselves to interreligious co-operation in the cause of peace and to make their achievements known. Its foundation hopes that the prize will further promote interreligious co-o ...

Later life

In the late 1980s, Jack retired from official positions and moved to Swarthmore,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, where he authored two books and continued to be active in various peace and human rights organizations. He was awarded the

Jamnalal Bajaj Award Jamnalal Bajaj Award is an Indian award, for promoting Gandhian values, community service and social development. Established in 1978, by the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation of Bajaj Group, it is given annually in four categories, and usually presente ...

in 1992. He also remarried, to German Quaker Ingebord Belk. He died of cancer in Swarthmore in 1993. Jack's autobiography was published posthumously in 1996 as ''Homer's Odyssey: My Quest for Peace and Justice''.

Published works

* ''The Wit and Wisdom of Gandhi'' (editor) (1951) * ''The Gandhi Reader: A Sourcebook of His Life and Writings'' (editor) (1956) * ''Religion and Peace, Papers from the National Inter-Religious Conference on Peace'' (editor) (1956) * ''Disarmament Workbook'' (1978) * ''Disarm - or Die: The Second U.N. Special Session on Disarmament'' (1983) * ''Mature Spirit: Religion Without Supernatural Hopes'' (co-authors Vincent Harding and Philip F. Mayer) (1987) * ''World Conference on Religion and Peace'' (1993) * ''Homer's Odyssey: My Quest for Peace and Justice'' (autobiography) (1996) * '' Swarthmore College Peace Collection: Homer A. Jack Papers'' (1930–1995)

References

External links

Biography of Homer A Jack by the Congress of Racial Equality
* The African Activist Archive Project website includes three photographs of Homer Jack from December 1958 includin
All African People's Conference - ACOA delegation
an
Congressman Charles Diggs with the American Committee on Africa delegation to the All-African People's Conference
and following the All African People’s Conferenc
ACOA Delegation in Togo

Homer A. Jack Papers
held a
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jack, Homer A. 1916 births 1993 deaths Nonviolence advocates American Unitarian Universalists Cornell University alumni American Unitarian clergy Religious leaders from Rochester, New York Activists for African-American civil rights American socialists American Christian pacifists Freedom Riders Activists from Rochester, New York New York (state) socialists Pennsylvania socialists 20th-century American clergy