Oral history interview with George Houser, 1999

Biographical Note

George Houser was born on June 2, 1916 in Cleveland, Ohio. After studying at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, Houser attended Union Theological Seminary, where he was first arrested for refusing the Selective Training and Service Act. He served a year and a day in the Federal Correctional Facility at Danbury for this. After release, Houser studied at the Chicago Theological Seminary. Houser was ordained as a Methodist minister in 1940. In September 1941, Houser began organizing Chicago pacifist groups for the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), where he met Jim Farmer and Bernice Fisher. In fall 1941, Houser co-founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and was Executive National Secretary for many years. He organized and participated in the Journey of Reconciliation. In 1952, Houser helped found Americans for South African Resistance and the American Committee on Africa, where he served as Executive Director from 1955 to 1981. Houser died on August 19, 2015

Scope and Contents

Houser begins by discussing his familial background and early political affiliations. Houser describes childhood in the Philippines, New York, and Berkeley, California. He recalls experiences at the College of the Pacific, Lingnan University in Canton, China, and the University of Denver, where he graduated in 1938. Houser speaks on the importance of the Methodist Youth Movement. Houser explains his objection to the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. He speaks on his job as a Chicago area organizer with the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), starting in the fall of 1941. Houser describes the inception of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and early meetings with Jim Farmer, Bernice Fisher, and Homer Jack. Houser goes on to explain the formation of the Interracial Fellowship Houses. Also discussed is CORE's relationship with FOR and protesting Chicago eateries, specifically a 1943 campaign against Stoner's Restaurant. Houser reflects on the first National CORE Convention in 1944 and analyzes the leadership of Jim Farmer and Bayard Rustin. The next segment of the interview covers the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, which was inspired by Supreme Court Case Morgan v. Virginia (1946). Houser recalls his experiences as an organizer and participant of the campaign. Houser then describes the first CORE summer workshop in 1947. He looks at the influence of McCarthyism on CORE, particularly with regards to field organizer Wally Nelson and his wife Juanita. He describes the African National Conferences' Defiance Campaign and his subsequent leadership in Americans for South African Resistance. Houser recalls the political transformation of the African National Congress and the relationship between South African apartheid and the Jim Crow South

Subjects

• African National Congress.
• Anti-apartheid activists--United States.
• Anti-communist movements--United States--History--20th century.
• Civil rights demonstrations--United States.
• Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century.
• Congress of Racial Equality.
• Farmer, James, 1920-1999.
• Houser, George M.--Interviews.
• Interviews.
• Methodist Church (U.S.)
• Michaels, Sheila, 1939-2017, interviewer.
• Oral histories.
• Pacifism.
• Peace movements--United States--History--20th century.
• United States--Race relations--History--20th century.