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

James Farmer,

Don Carleton (Foreword)

4.34 · Rating details · 82 ratings · 12 reviews

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, ...more

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Paperback, 370 pages

Published June 1st 1998 by Texas Christian University Press (first published 1985)

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May 27, 2020 Mark rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Americans

It was my great privilege to a take a class taught by James Farmer at Mary Washington College in 1998, so I was thrilled to finally get around to reading his autobiography. It was well-told and enjoyable, but it's claim to be an autobiography of the civil rights movement is a bit bold. We don't even get to the Civil Rights movement until half-way through the book, but his upbringing and coming of age are not uninteresting. It gets downright fascinating though once he's leading a national movemen It was my great privilege to a take a class taught by James Farmer at Mary Washington College in 1998, so I was thrilled to finally get around to reading his autobiography. It was well-told and enjoyable, but it's claim to be an autobiography of the civil rights movement is a bit bold. We don't even get to the Civil Rights movement until half-way through the book, but his upbringing and coming of age are not uninteresting. It gets downright fascinating though once he's leading a national movement and organizing with MLK and others. I didn't know Marion Berry was the first chairman of SNCC. It was particularly harrowing to see the lengths that people will go to in order to maintain their illusion of superiority. The state of Mississippi marshaled ever resource it had and fought a bitter legal and extra-legal battle...just to tell people where to sit on a bus. State Police in Louisiana burned black churches.
When I took Farmer's class on the history of the Civil Rights movement, my notes were abstract, impressionistic, occasionally just stunning turn-of-phrases, and I was delighted to see some of them show up in the book and trigger memories: "out there in the pitiless glare of the sun" was my favorite.
He writes with great balance and seeming sincerity. He comes out looking pretty good in this autobiography, but there were gaps that raised important questions. One minute he's preacher's son studying for seminary and the next he's getting married in a humanist ceremony with no mention of God; the transition is never addressed. He acknowledges his blindness and losing the eye to disease, but doesn't mention the severe diabetes it was attributed to, which ultimately cost him his legs too. Still, it ends well, with some semi-modest appreciation for the impressive social and political gains outlined in the last quarter of the book. He doesn't get along very well with JFK, accomplishes much more with RFK, and ultimately goes to work for the Nixon administration, which goes about as well as anyone would expect. He says he "paved the road on which America's black children walk toward new vistas that I shared in shaping" and I am not going to argue with that. It's not just the Freedom Rides either: the successfully desegregating busing lead to media, money, and more action, including more desegregation and literacy and voter registration programs. The fact that he fought and won against violent, entrenched forces exclusively through non-violence should be eternally appreciated. ...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Mikey B. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: autobiography, civil-rights, united-states

This book is an essential on the Civil Rights movement. Mr. Farmer was involved in this movement prior to World War II. He was living in Chicago trying to integrate restaurants, skating arcades and the like. It was a constant struggle, it was draining, and it was certainly not lucrative. The people involved in this work for racial equality needed dedication and resilience in abundance.

Mr. Farmer met a wide variety of people from Eleanor Roosevelt, Malcolm X, A.J. Muste, and Presidents – and he p ...more

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Jun 25, 2008 Larry Taylor rated it it was amazing

I've been attempting to fill in some gaps in my education and understanding in a personal quest to understand and be more compassionate of others. As a family, we were watching the movie "THe Great Debaters", which led me to interest in James Farmer (the young kid on the debate team). Lay Bear the Heart is his autobiography, and with it, the history of the civil rights movement in America. Farmer was a brilliant, highly educated, extraordinarily brave, devout Christian man. This is an important ...more

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Apr 25, 2008 Ginny rated it it was amazing

Dr. Farmer was one of my favorite professors in college--such an amazing man with the most powerful stories to tell. This book will always have a special place on my shelves.

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Nov 06, 2018 Kate N. Ewing rated it it was amazing

Why did I never hear of this man before? I was a kid during the 60’s and very aware of my dad’s close attention to and support of the Civil Rights Movement. I saw and loved the movie “The Great Debaters” some years ago, but either forgot or never realized that the young protagonist went on to become a major leader in the fight to end segregation... and so much more. James Farmer should be in our history books right up there with Martin Luther King, Jr. Although his beliefs and methods were entir ...more

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Sep 15, 2020 Deborah E. Kunkel rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Interesting look at the Civil Rights movement and the behind the scenes struggles as well as differences. Especially in light of today's protests against racism and the raised awareness of the systemic racism in many of our institutions. Many of the arguments today were made to Farmer. ...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Andrea rated it liked it

Shelves: biography, race

This is one of the autobiographies that reveals more than the author would like I think, and I didn't especially like James Farmer a great deal. Much as I admire the Congress of Racial Equality and the Freedom Rides and some of the stands Farmer took along with those he worked with. I found it a bit sanctimonious and prudish and self-serving, in addition to the fact that he seemed to really buy into the virulent anti-communism sponsored by HUAC and others. So when he talks about how the movement ...more

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Dec 19, 2016 Mary rated it really liked it

I recently reread this book. I had James Farmer as a professor in college and his lectures were much more lively than the book. He would start singing. He was quite a story teller and a great resource on the civil rights era. The book is pretty much his whole life story which is fascinating.

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Apr 22, 2013 David Bird rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: my-landmarks

James Farmer was one of the most impressive human beings I have ever had the privilege to know, even a little. This volume presents his vision and his courage, as well as his fears and doubts.

Because when I had class with him, he was blind from years of teargas, to sign my copy, I placed his hand on the book.

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Nov 06, 2009 Chi Chi rated it it was amazing

For all I've read about the Civil Rights Movement, I didn't really know anything about James Farmer or CORE. Not only did this book fill in a lot of gaps for me historically, it's an extremely well written piece of literature. ...more

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Jul 28, 2015 Jeff rated it it was amazing

One of my professors participated in the freedom rides, listening to him talk made me hunt down this book. A wonderful read, a valuable lesson in humanism and non-violence.

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