James Farmer

Former national director of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality, founded in 1942). Farmer and his organization provided encouragement and support for the sit-ins once they got under way, and the group was active in 1963, when A&T and Bennett students again demonstrated against segregation.

Farmer, a strong believer in integration, once held a TV debate with Malcolm X, who favored black isolationism. Farmer has lost his sight and left leg because of diabetes, but he still travels the lecture circuit. He spoke at a Project Homestead banquet in Greensboro in 1996. Farmer died in 1999.

Audio (MP3)

An overview of just what the sit-ins meant (4:10)

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