6/29/2008

Lay Bare the Heart - James Farmer

Lay Bare the Heart: Autobiography of the Civil Right Movement.

By James Farmer. Various issues, 1980s.

On the short list of recent, great American Civil Rights leaders is James Farmer, born in 1920 in Marshall, Texas. Farmer founded the Congress of Racial Equality and led the influential 1960s “Freedom Bus Rides” across the South. His life’s account is presented with the intimate, honest details reminiscent of Eugene O’Neill’s later plays. Three chapters focus on his Texas rearing. Two are set in Austin: “Growing Up in Texas (Stage One)” and “Growing Up in Texas (Stage Two).” His father, first Black Ph.D. in Texas, returned to Marshall to teach at Wiley College. That chapter is “Intellectual Coming of Age: Tolstoi and Tolson.”
When you're considering how to find relevant volumes on African Texas culture, put this one on the shelf or into a high schooler's hands. - WH

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good for people to know.