THE CORE WAY: THE CONGRESS OF RACIAL EQUALITY AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT: 1942-1968

Abstract

The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) pursued a vision to bring racial harmony to a nation divided. CORE--regionally known as the Chicago Committee of Racial Equality--began in the spring of 1942 in Chicago through the work of James Farmer, George Houser, Bernice Fisher, Homer Jack, James Robinson, and Joe Guinn. This group of young idealists directed its attention to social action and according to August Meier and Elliott Rudwick applied Gandhian techniques of nonviolent direct action to the resolution of racial conflict in the United States. THE CORE WAY: THE CONGRESS OF RACIAL EQUALITY AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT--1942-1968 reexamines CORE, its members, philosophies, and transitions. Chapter one, A New Reflection: Revisiting the Voices of CORE's Past--The Birth of CORE 1942, looks at the formation of the organization in 1942 and the development of its foundational principles and ideas. Chapter two, Reconciling the Journey of Reconciliation: The Revealing of the Congress of Racial Equality--1947, looks at the Journey of Reconciliation and how CORE put into practice nonviolent direct action--one of its main ideological principles. Chapter three, Until the Cup That We Drink from Is the Very Same: The 1961 CORE Freedom Ride, builds upon chapter two with a look at the Freedom Ride of 1961. It chronicles the overwhelming commitment of the organization to racial integration and harmony. Chapter four, We're Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired: The Transitional CORE Years--1960-1966, begins to highlight the fracturing of CORE and its transition away from some of its traditional initiative, campaigns, but more importantly foundational principles. Finally, chapter five, The Opening of Pandora's Box: CORE at a Crossroads, examines the shift away from the original goals of CORE and the creation of a new direction.