Congress of Racial Equality

(CORE), civil-rights organization founded (1942) in Chicago by James Farmer. Dedicated to the use of nonviolent direct action, CORE initially sought to promote better race relations and end racial discrimination in the United States. It first focused on activities directed toward the desegregation of public accommodations in Chicago, later expanding its program of nonviolent sit-ins to the South. CORE gained national recognition by sponsoring (1961) the Freedom Rides, a series of confrontational bus rides throughout the South by interracial groups of CORE members and supporters that ultimately succeeding in ending segregation on interstate bus routes. CORE was one of the sponsors of the 1963 civil-rights march on Washington. After 1966, when Farmer resigned, the organization concentrated more on black voter registration in the South and on community problems. Later leaders have focused on African-American political and economic empowerment and have tended to agree with civil-rights critics such as Presidents Ronald ReaganReagan, Ronald Wilson
, 1911–2004, 40th president of the United States (1981–89), b. Tampico, Ill. In 1932, after graduation from Eureka College, he became a radio announcer and sportscaster.
..... Click the link for more information. and George H. W.BushBush, George Herbert Walker,
1924–2018, 41st President of the United States (1989–93), b. Milton, Mass., B.A., Yale Univ., 1948. Career in Business and Government
..... Click the link for more information. . CORE leader Roy InnisInnis, Roy
(Roy Emile Alfredo Innis), 1934–2017, American civil-rights leader, b. St. Croix, Virgin Islands. A member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) from 1963, he was its national director (1968–82) and national chairman (1970–2017).
..... Click the link for more information. supported the nominations of Robert BorkBork, Robert Heron,
1927–2012, American jurist, b. Pittsburgh. He received his law degree from the Univ. of Chicago in 1953, and was professor of law at Yale (1962–73, 1977–81). While serving as U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. (1987) and Clarence ThomasThomas, Clarence,
1948–, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1991–), b. Pin Point (Savannah), Ga. Raised in a poor family, he graduated (1974) from the Yale Law School and became a prominent black conservative active in Republican causes.
..... Click the link for more information. (1991) to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1996–98, Innis led teams that monitored elections in Nigeria. By 1999, CORE had about 100,000 members in 5 regional groups, 39 state groups, and 116 local groups.

Bibliography

See study by A. Meier and E. Rudwick (1973).

Congress of Racial Equality

Congress of Racial Equality