James Leonard Farmer Sr. (June 12, 1886 – May 14, 1961), known as J. Leonard Farmer, was an American author, theologian, and educator. He was a minister in the

Methodist Episcopal Church, South The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...

and an academic in early religious history as well as theology.

Early life and education

James Leonard Farmer was the son of farm workers and former slaves from

Kingstree, South Carolina Kingstree is a city in and the county seat of Williamsburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,328 at the 2010 census. History The original town was laid out as Williamsburg by the Lords Proprietors in colonial times, b ...

. His father was Carolina and his mother Lorena (Wilson) Farmer. After limited schooling in Georgia and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, Farmer gained a scholarship to

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

. He earned his bachelor, masters of theology, and doctoral degrees at this institution."James Farmer Sr. Born"
African American Registry

Career

Farmer had a dual career as a minister and an academic. He was ordained as a minister in the

. He taught and mentored as a professor at several

historically black colleges and universities Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

in the South, including Huston-Tillotson and

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations *Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town *Wiley, Georgia, an U.S. unincorporated community * Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People *Wiley (musician), ...

colleges in Texas;

Rust College Rust College is a private historically black college in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Founded in 1866, it is the second-oldest private college in the state. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, it is one of ten historically black colleges ...

in Mississippi; and most notably

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

in Washington, DC, from 1939 to 1946, returning to Texas to Huston as dean until his retirement in 1956. During this period, he served as an administrator as well as a professor.

Marriage and family

In 1917 Farmer married Pearl Marion. They had two children: Helen Louise and

James Farmer James Leonard Farmer Jr. (January 12, 1920 – July 9, 1999) was an American civil rights activist and leader in the Civil Rights Movement "who pushed for nonviolent protest to dismantle segregation, and served alongside Martin Luther King Jr." ...

. Their son became a renowned civil rights leader during the Civil Rights Movement. A proponent of non-violent action, his son

was a co-founder of the

Congress for Racial Equality The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African Americans, 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 ...

and helped organize the

Freedom Rides Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions '' Morgan v. Virginia' ...

of 1961.

Representation in popular culture

*Aspects of Farmer Sr.'s life are chronicled in the film ''

The Great Debaters ''The Great Debaters'' is a 2007 American historical drama film directed by Denzel Washington from a screenplay by Robert Eisele and based on a 1997 article for '' American Legacy'' by Tony Scherman. The film follows the trials and tribulations o ...

'' (2007), in which the minister is played by

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Best Actor Award at the ...

References

External links

"James L. Farmer" page
Center for East Texas Studies
"James Farmer Sr. Born"
African American Registry 1886 births 1961 deaths African-American male writers Methodist theologians Boston University School of Theology alumni People from Marshall, Texas American university and college faculty deans Writers from Texas Wiley University faculty Howard University faculty 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American male writers Methodists from Texas {{US-academic-administrator-1880s-stub