Lay Bare the Heart: An Autobiography of the Civil Rights Movement

By James Farmer

Book Overview

Texas native James Farmer is one of the "Big Four" of the turbulent 1960s civil rights movement, along with Martin Luther King Jr., Roy Wilkins, and Whitney Young. Farmer might be called the forgotten man of the movement, overshadowed by Martin Luther King Jr., who was deeply influenced by Farmer's interpretation of Gandhi's concept of nonviolent protest.

Born in Marshall, Texas, in 1920, the son of a preacher, Farmer grew up with segregated movie theaters and "White Only" drinking fountains. This background impelled him to found the Congress of Racial Equality in 1942. That same year he mobilized the first sit-in in an all-white restaurant near the University of Chicago. Under Farmer's direction, CORE set the pattern for the civil rights movement by peaceful protests which eventually led to the dramatic "Freedom Rides" of the 1960s.

In Lay Bare the Heart Farmer tells the story of the heroic civil rights struggle of the 1950s and 1960s. This moving and unsparing personal account captures both the inspiring strengths and human weaknesses of a movement beset by rivalries, conflicts and betrayals. Farmer recalls meetings with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Adlai Stevenson (for whom he had great respect), and Lyndon Johnson (who, according to Farmer, used Adam Clayton Powell Jr., to thwart a major phase of the movement).

James Farmer has courageously worked for dignity for all people in the United States. In this book, he tells his story with forthright honesty.

First published in 1985 by Arbor House, this edition contains a new foreword by Don Carleton, director of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin, and a new preface.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0875651887
• ISBN13: 9780875651880
• Release Date: June 1998
• Publisher: Texas Christian University Press
• Length: 370 Pages
• Weight: 1.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.1"
• Grade Range: Grades 10 to 12

Customer Reviews

Enthralling inside account of the civil rights struggle

This is an absolutely honest and often riveting account of some of the most important moments in civil rights history, including the viewpoint from inside the Mississippi jails Farmer frequented during the Freedom Rides of the early 1960's, and his participation in "summit conferences" with Dr. King and other civil rights leaders. Farmer's greatness is little appreciated today, perhaps because by nature he was shy and something of a policy wonk, not given to fiery speeches or self-promotion. Yet this book, without an ounce of exaggeration or hubris, shows that he was a tremendously courageous man, asserting leadership at a key turning point in the civil rights movement, in the 1940's and early 1950's, by developing the technique of non-violent confrontation. Farmer, like President Obama, began his career in Chicago. The first restaurant sit-in he helped organize was in 1947 at the Jack Spratt Coffeehouse, one of the many Chicago restaurants that refused to serve blacks. That first success led to many others, moving from the segregated North to the Jim Crow South. Farmer's honest, even self-effacing account of his work brings home that the civil rights movement did not happen spontaneously, but was the product of long hours of debating tactics, raising money (for the bail fund, among other things), and enlisting the support of volunteers. It was not a smooth march to a pre-ordained triumph, but a series of individual decisions putting livelihoods and lives at risk against what seemed long odds. Only a person with clarity of purpose and vision, like Farmer, could have been confident that those sacrifices would eventually lead to victory. But, as the book makes clear, even Farmer had many doubts, and much of the value and poignancy of the book comes as we experience, with Farmer, his own personal struggles. Highly recommended.

A must for those interested in the history of civil rights

I was able to sit in a lecture class of Dr. Farmer at MaryWashington College. Dr. Farmer was able to to convey to us thestruggle that he and other civil rights leaders went through. His powerful voice, coupled with his compassion for the subject made it the best class I have ever taken. Dr. Farmer is a tribute to all Americans.