Contents
James Forman
Organising the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the US civil-rights movement.
Black Manifesto · The Making of Black Revolutionaries
- Born
- 4 October 1928
- Birthplace
- Chicago, United States
- Died
- 10 January 2005
More people
James Forman
James Forman was an American civil-rights organiser and writer. As SNCC’s executive secretary, he helped sustain the staff, communications and logistics behind grassroots campaigns in the 1960s.
Early life
Two childhood settings
Spent early years with his grandmother in rural Mississippi before returning to Chicago.
Education and service
Served in the US Air Force and later studied at Roosevelt University.
Career
- 1961
SNCC leadership
Became executive secretary of the civil-rights organisation.
- 1964–1965
Voting-rights campaigns
Helped organise work during Freedom Summer and the Alabama voting-rights struggle.
- 1969
Black Manifesto
Pressed white religious institutions to fund reparations and Black development.
- 1970s–1980s
Writing and teaching
Documented the movement and continued political education.
Selected work
Black Manifesto
Set out a demand for economic redress and community investment.
The Making of Black Revolutionaries
An extensive personal account of organising and political change.
Self Determination
Examined self-determination and African-American political life.
Beyond organising
Further study
Completed graduate research after his years at SNCC.
Family
His sons include actor Chaka Forman and legal scholar James Forman Jr.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Further source: snccdigital.org ↗Photo: Unknown author Unknown author. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
