Oral history interview with James Robinson, 1999

Biographical Note

James Russell Robinson was born into a Catholic family in Wyoming, New York in 1918. His father, a doctor, died when Robinson was three years old. He and his mother, a school teacher, lived with his maternal grandparents after his father's death. Robinson attended Fordham University beginning in 1935 and transferred to Columbia University in 1936. At Columbia, he was active in the peace movement and several radical campus groups. Early in his career, Robinson worked at various publishing houses. He moved to Chicago, Illinois to pursue a master's degree at the University of Chicago. In Chicago, Robinson became active with the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) and was a founder of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). After completing graduate school in 1942, Robinson taught speech and reading at Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama. He was a conscientious objector during World War II and spent time in a work camp. Robinson later became a member of CORE's New York chapter, and was active in CORE’s national leadership. He served as Executive Secretary of CORE from 1957-1960. He also spearheaded CORE's fundraising campaigns beginning in 1951. After leaving CORE, Robinson worked as a fundraiser for the American Committee on Africa (ACA) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense Fund (NAACP LDF). Robinson died on September 20, 2016

Scope and Contents

In this interview with Sheila Michaels, James (Jim) Robinson discusses his civil rights activism, pacifism, and the development of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Robinson starts the interview describing his family history, college experience, his involvement with the War Resisters League, the peace movement, and his time spent living at the Harlem YMCA after graduating from Columbia University. He describes activism with Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) and the founding of CORE. Activities he recounts from his CORE involvement include the Journey of Reconciliation, Freedom Rides, and Fellowship Houses in Chicago. He also discusses CORE's efforts to desegregate housing, eating establishments, and recreational spaces in various cities. He highlights CORE's role in conducting training in nonviolent protest techniques. He details his role as a fundraiser for CORE, as a Field Secretary and later Executive Secretary. He analyzes the public's perception of CORE following the Freedom Rides and sit-ins. He also discusses CORE’s collaboration with other civil rights movement organizations including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Robinson discusses the philosophical foundations of CORE's commitment to nonviolent techniques. He discusses being sent to work camps as a conscientious objector status during World War II, and his consent to participate in a life raft rations experiment. Last, Robinson discusses the demographic shift of CORE's membership and leadership and fundraising for the American Committee on Africa

Subjects

• Civil rights demonstrations--United States.
• Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century.
• Congress of Racial Equality.
• Congress of Racial Equality. Chicago Chapter.
• Congress of Racial Equality. New York (Harlem) Chapter.
• Draft resisters.
• Fund raising.
• Interviews.
• Michaels, Sheila, 1939-2017, interviewer.
• Oral histories.
• Pacifism.
• Peace movements--United States--History--20th century.
• Robinson, James--Interviews.
• United States--Race relations--History--20th century.

Access Conditions

Copyright by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, 2005