(2008-0695-F) James L. Farmer Jr.

53 folders, 304 pages

This collection consists of records from when James L. Farmer, Jr. received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on January 15, 1998. The files contain congressional correspondence and correspondence written by the general public recommending that President William J. Clinton award Dr. James L. Farmer, Jr. the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The files also contain lists of Presidential Medal of Freedom award ceremony invitees and the citations read for each recipient during the ceremony.

The materials in FOIA 2008-0695-F are a selective, not necessarily all inclusive, body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. James L. Farmer, Jr. was born in Marshall, Texas on January 12, 1920 and died in Fredericksburg, Virginia on July 9, 1999. He was a leader of the American civil rights movement in the 1940’s, 50’s, and 60’s and the organizer of the 1961 Freedom Rides, which consisted of civil rights activists who rode on interstate buses into the segregated south of the United States to test the Supreme Court's ruling in Boynton v. Virginia (1960). Farmer was also a co-founder of the Committee of Racial Equality, later known as the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), which sought to end segregation in America through active nonviolence. James Farmer’s contributions during the civil rights movement and after were recognized on January 15, 1998, when President William J. Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. FOIA request 2008-0695-F contains congressional correspondence and correspondence written by the general public recommending that President William J. Clinton award Dr. James L. Farmer, Jr. the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The FOIA also contains lists of Presidential Medal of Freedom award ceremony invitees and the citations read for each recipient during the ceremony.

Textual

Records that were responsive to this FOIA request were found in three collection areas – Clinton Presidential Records: WHORM Alpha File, Clinton Presidential Records: WHORM Subject Files, and Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files. As policy, Staff and Office Files are processed at the folder level, that is, individual documents are not selected and removed from a folder for processing. While this method maintains folder integrity, it frequently results in the incidental processing of documents that are not wholly responsive to the subject area. WHORM Subject Files are processed at the document level. The WHORM Subject File was compiled by the White House Office of Records Management and is a series of categories designated by a letter/number combination. A complete listing of the categories with detailed descriptions is provided in our research room.

Collection is open to all researchers. Access to Clinton Presidential Records is governed by the Presidential Records Act (PRA) (44 USC 2201) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 USC 552, as amended) and therefore records may be restricted in whole or in part in accordance with legal exemptions.

Official records of William Jefferson Clinton’s presidency are housed at the Clinton Presidential Library and administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) under the provisions of the Presidential Records Act (PRA).

Staff Archivist, 2010. Previously restricted materials are added as they are released.

The following is a list of documents and folders processed in response to FOIA 2008-0695-F:
Box 1
Clinton Presidential Records: WHORM Alpha File
AF
221636 [Donna Sherie Marie Lee] [OA/ID 8643]
221636 [Mitzi H. Saffos] [OA/ID 8643]
221636 [Whitney E.H. Donaghy] [OA/ID 8643]
222823 [Marvin S. Bolinger] [OA/ID 9738]
228252 [Theresa L. Watson] [OA/ID 9749]
235136 [Merilie Robertson] [OA/ID 9762]
243322 [Gloria Darden Gettys] [OA/ID 10201]
244643 [Marietta J. Tanner] [OA/ID 10201]
248392 [Lacy L. Joyner] [OA/ID 10206]
254340 [Gregory V. Palmer] [OA/ID 10889]
Clinton Presidential Records: WHORM Subject Files
Category Case Number
MA026 Scanned: Case Numbers 212636
 214579
 216400
 216403
 216415
 217270
 217272
 217273
 217274
 217275
 217276
 217297
Clinton Presidential Records: WHORM Subject Files (continued)
Category Case Number
MA026 Scanned: Case Numbers 217299
 217300
 217303
 217304
 217305
 217307
 217308
 217309
 217310
 217311
 217312
 217313
 217314
 217618
 218682
 218981
 218984
 222526
 224139
 224144
 224154
 224196
Box 2 224440
 224831
 229274
 242713
 247227
 249696SS
 249861
 252594
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Public Liaison
Presidential Medal of Freedom/James Farmer [OA/ID 11512]