Ira Helser Latimer (1906–1985) was an educator, missionary, activist, and lawyer who advocated for civil rights and equal accommodation for African Americans in Chicago. Minneapolis mayor Thomas Erwin Latimer was his father.

Life

He was born in Columbus, Ohio. He was raised as Ira Jenkins until his father's paternity was revealed when Ira was working as a radio broadcaster. He married and had a son and daughter.

Career

He was denied admittance to the Illinois Bar. He wrote to

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...

about his difficulties with LeMoyne College in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. He wrote a thesis on African American politics at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. As executive director of the Chicago Civil Liberties Commission, he was involved in protests over the banning of Maude Hutchins' book ''A Diary of Love'' in Chicago.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latimer, Ira Helser People from Columbus, Ohio 1906 births 1985 deaths Activists from Ohio LeMoyne–Owen College alumni Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Activists for African-American civil rights