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'''The Big Six''' refer to some of the prominent chairmen, presidents, and leaders of six of the [[civil rights organization]]s active during the height of the [[African-American Civil Rights Movement]] who were instrumental in the organization of the [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]] in 1963.
'''The Big Six''' refer to the chairmen, presidents, and leaders of six prominent [[civil rights organization]]s active during the height of the [[African-American Civil Rights Movement]] who were instrumental in the organization of the [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]] in 1963.


They include:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.howard.edu/library/reference/guides/lewis/bigsixfiles/default.htm |title=The Big Six: John Lewis and His Contemporaries |publisher=Howard.edu |accessdate=February 5, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wndu.com/home/misc/Notable_Achievements_of_Dr_Martin_Luther_King_Jr.html |title=Notable Achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr |publisher=Wndu.com |accessdate=February 5, 2013}}</ref>
They include:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.howard.edu/library/reference/guides/lewis/bigsixfiles/default.htm |title=The Big Six: John Lewis and His Contemporaries |publisher=Howard.edu |accessdate=February 5, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wndu.com/home/misc/Notable_Achievements_of_Dr_Martin_Luther_King_Jr.html |title=Notable Achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr |publisher=Wndu.com |accessdate=February 5, 2013}}</ref>


* [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968): the chairman of the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]] (SCLC) was a [[Baptists|Baptist]] minister, [[Activism|activist]], and the most famous leader of the Civil Rights Movement. King won the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] and [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] before his assassination in 1968. For his promotion of [[nonviolence]] and [[racial equality]], King is considered a peacemaker and martyr by many people around the world. [[Martin Luther King, Jr. Day]] in the [[United States]] was established in his honor, and a [[Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial|Memorial to him]] stands on the nation's National Mall.
* [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968): the chairman of the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]] (SCLC) was a [[Baptists|Baptist]] minister, [[Activism|activist]], and the most famous leader of the Civil Rights Movement. King won the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] and [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] before his assassination in 1968. For his promotion of [[nonviolence]] and [[racial equality]], King is considered a peacemaker and martyr by many people around the world. [[Martin Luther King, Jr. Day]] in the United States was established in his honor, and a [[Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial|Memorial to him]] stands on the nation's National Mall.


* [[James L. Farmer, Jr.|James Farmer]] (January 12, 1920 – July 9, 1999): In 1942 Farmer founded the [[Congress of Racial Equality]] or CORE, a [[pacifism|pacifist]] organization dedicated to achieving racial harmony and equality through nonviolence, and stayed active in the Civil Rights Movement through the 1950s and 1960s. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998, shortly before his death in 1999.
* [[James L. Farmer, Jr.|James Farmer]] (January 12, 1920 – July 9, 1999): In 1942 Farmer founded the [[Congress of Racial Equality]] or CORE, a [[pacifism|pacifist]] organization dedicated to achieving racial harmony and equality through nonviolence, and stayed active in the Civil Rights Movement through the 1950s and 1960s. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998, shortly before his death in 1999.


* [[John Lewis (politician)|John Lewis]] (born February 21, 1940): Became a leader in the American Civil Rights Movement as president of the [[Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee]] (SNCC) and as a participant with other civil rights leaders—such as [[Diane Nash]], [[James Bevel]], and [[Bernard Lafayette]]—in the [[Nashville sit-ins|Nashville Student Movement]] (1959–62). Lewis represented SNCC with a speech at the August 28, 1963 [[March on Washington]]. Lewis has represented the [[Georgia's 5th congressional district|5th District of Georgia]] in the [[United States House of Representatives]] since 1987, a district which includes almost all of [[Atlanta]].
* [[John Lewis (politician)|John Lewis]] (born February 21, 1940): Became a leader in the American Civil Rights Movement as president of the [[Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee]] (SNCC) and as a participant with other civil rights leaders such as [[Diane Nash]], [[James Bevel]], and [[Bernard Lafayette]] in the [[Nashville sit-ins|Nashville Student Movement]] (1959–62). Lewis represented SNCC with a speech at the August 28, 1963 [[March on Washington]]. Lewis has represented the [[Georgia's 5th congressional district|5th District of Georgia]] in the [[United States House of Representatives]] since 1987, a district which includes almost all of [[Atlanta]].


* [[A. Philip Randolph]] (April 15, 1889 – May 16, 1979) was a [[socialism|socialist]] in the [[labour movement|labor movement]] and the U.S. civil rights movement. In 1925, Randolph organized the [[Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters]]. This was the first serious effort to form a [[Labor unions in the United States|labor union]] for the employees of the [[Pullman Company]], which was a major employer of [[African American]]s.
* [[A. Philip Randolph]] (April 15, 1889 – May 16, 1979) was a [[socialism|socialist]] in the [[labor movement]] and the U.S. civil rights movement. In 1925, Randolph organized the [[Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters]]. This was the first serious effort to form a [[labor union]] for the employees of the [[Pullman Company]], which was a major employer of [[African American]]s.


* [[Roy Wilkins]] (August 30, 1901 – September 8, 1981) was a prominent civil rights activist in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s. In 1955, Wilkins was named executive director of the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP). He had an excellent reputation as an articulate spokesperson for the civil rights movement. He participated in the March on Washington (1963), the [[Selma to Montgomery marches]] (1965), and the [[March Against Fear]] (1966).
* [[Roy Wilkins]] (August 30, 1901 – September 8, 1981) was a prominent civil rights activist in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s. In 1955, Wilkins was named executive director of the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP). He had an excellent reputation as an articulate spokesperson for the civil rights movement. He participated in the March on Washington (1963), the [[Selma to Montgomery marches]] (1965), and the [[March Against Fear]] (1966).
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* [[Whitney Young]] (July 31, 1921 – March 11, 1971) spent most of his career working to end [[employment discrimination]] in the [[Southern United States|South]] and turning the [[National Urban League]] from a relatively passive civil rights organization into one that aggressively fought for justice.
* [[Whitney Young]] (July 31, 1921 – March 11, 1971) spent most of his career working to end [[employment discrimination]] in the [[Southern United States|South]] and turning the [[National Urban League]] from a relatively passive civil rights organization into one that aggressively fought for justice.


In James Farmer's autobiography, ''Lay Bare the Heart'', he identified the term "Big Six" as having originated with the founding of the [[Council for United Civil Rights Leadership]]. Farmer did not include A. Philip Randolph in his listing of the "Big Six", instead listing [[Dorothy Height]], president of the [[National Council of Negro Women]] as the sixth member of the group. Farmer also noted that the press often referred to the group as the "Big Four", excluding Height and John Lewis; Farmer attributed their omission to sexism and age bias, respectively.<ref>{{cite book |last=Farmer |first=James |authorlink=James L. Farmer, Jr. |date= |title=Lay Bare the Heart |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=it2RdgDxFMMC&q=Big+Six#v=onepage&q&f=false |location=Fort Worth |publisher=[[Texas Christian University Press]] |page=215 |isbn=9780875651880 |accessdate=September 22, 2014 }}</ref>
In James Farmer's autobiography, ''Lay Bare the Heart'', he identified the term "Big Six" as having originated with the founding of the [[Council for United Civil Rights Leadership]]. Farmer did not include A. Philip Randolph in his listing of the "Big Six", instead listing [[Dorothy Height]], president of the [[National Council of Negro Women]] as the sixth member of the group. Farmer also noted that the press often referred to the group as the "Big Four", excluding Height and John Lewis. Farmer attributed their omission to sexism and age bias, respectively.<ref>{{cite book |last=Farmer |first=James |authorlink=James L. Farmer, Jr. |date= |title=Lay Bare the Heart |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=it2RdgDxFMMC&q=Big+Six#v=onepage&q&f=false |location=Fort Worth |publisher=[[Texas Christian University Press]] |page=215 |isbn=9780875651880 |accessdate=September 22, 2014 }}</ref>


Human rights activist [[Malcolm X]], who may have coined the term "The Big Six", said: "...the Negro civil rights leaders have now been permanently named the Big Six (because of their participation in the Big Fix?)."<ref>''Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare'', James H. Cone, Orbis Books, NY, 1991, p. 118. ISBN 0-88344-721-5.</ref>
Human rights activist [[Malcolm X]], who may have coined the term "The Big Six", said: "...the Negro civil rights leaders have now been permanently named the Big Six (because of their participation in the Big Fix?)."<ref>''Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare'', James H. Cone, Orbis Books, NY, 1991, p. 118. ISBN 0-88344-721-5.</ref>

Revision as of 03:33, 8 March 2015

The Big Six refer to the chairmen, presidents, and leaders of six prominent civil rights organizations active during the height of the African-American Civil Rights Movement who were instrumental in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.

They include:[1][2]

  • James Farmer (January 12, 1920 – July 9, 1999): In 1942 Farmer founded the Congress of Racial Equality or CORE, a pacifist organization dedicated to achieving racial harmony and equality through nonviolence, and stayed active in the Civil Rights Movement through the 1950s and 1960s. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998, shortly before his death in 1999.

In James Farmer's autobiography, Lay Bare the Heart, he identified the term "Big Six" as having originated with the founding of the Council for United Civil Rights Leadership. Farmer did not include A. Philip Randolph in his listing of the "Big Six", instead listing Dorothy Height, president of the National Council of Negro Women as the sixth member of the group. Farmer also noted that the press often referred to the group as the "Big Four", excluding Height and John Lewis. Farmer attributed their omission to sexism and age bias, respectively.[3]

Human rights activist Malcolm X, who may have coined the term "The Big Six", said: "...the Negro civil rights leaders have now been permanently named the Big Six (because of their participation in the Big Fix?)."[4]

Patrick Henry Bass, journalist and historian of the March on Washington, described the rise of these leaders to celebrity: "Increasingly, these six powerful men lived in two worlds: the political and the personal, one white, in which they were still strangers but becoming increasingly familiar with its insider/outsider rules; the other, black, where they were treated as extended members of the family."[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Big Six: John Lewis and His Contemporaries". Howard.edu. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  2. ^ "Notable Achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr". Wndu.com. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  3. ^ Farmer, James. Lay Bare the Heart. Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press. p. 215. ISBN 9780875651880. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  4. ^ Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare, James H. Cone, Orbis Books, NY, 1991, p. 118. ISBN 0-88344-721-5.
  5. ^ Patrick Henry Bass, Like a Mighty Stream: The March on Washington, August 28, 1963; Philadelphia: Running Press, 2002; ISBN 0-7624-1292-5; p. 85.
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