Browse Items (314 total)

This is a 1967 photo of JIm Peck (left hand side, dark overcoat) standing next to famed pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock. They were being arrested for blocking the Whitehall Street induction center during Stop the Draft Week in New York City. Peck was…

This is a 1960 photo of New York CORE member taken in front of her apartment in Brooklyn. Like James Farmer, James Robinson and George Houser, she was one of the founding members of CORE who relocated to New York City.
A pacifist and divinity…

This is a copy of a 1947 CORE letter sent out to staff. It is included here because it demonstrates:
1. That CORE was headquartered in New York City and had an office in Harlem as early as 1947. CORE moved to NYC because its first national leader,…

This is a photo of members of the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation. Left to right: Worth Randle, Wallace Nelson, Ernest Bromley, James Peck, Igal Roodenko, Bayard Rustin, Joseph Felmet, George Houser and Andrew Johnson.

There were sixteen members…

This is a photo of Bayard Rustin (Black male) and George Houser (White male).

Rustin’s relationship with CORE can be confusing. According to Houser, Rustin was not a founding member of CORE, as many authors have stated. According to Rustin…

This is a photo of CORE founding member George Houser. While James Farmer was CORE’s first chairman, Houser as CORE’s first Executive Secretary was essentially the head of CORE and its guiding director throughout its first two decades.

A…

This is a photo of CORE field secretary Joyce Ware. At the time she was 23 years old. She also worked in the North East Regional Office located in Harlem.

This is the 1961 arrest photo for CORE member Gloria Bouknight as a Freedom Rider in Jackson, Mississippi. Originally from the South, she lived in New York after the rides and was roommates with Sheila Michaels. She served as chair of the membership…

This is the 1961 arrest photo for Jorgia Siegel as a Freedom Rider in Jackson, Mississippi. After the rides, she became active with the national CORE on New York as a fund raiser and organized groups in the city to go down to the March on…

This is the 1961 arrest photo for Claire Toombs as a Freedom Rider in Jackson, Mississippi. She also participated in the Route 40 Freedom Rides.

Originally from Maryland, Toombs and her sister became members of Brooklyn CORE. Claire was also…