Which term did James L. Farmer Jr. coin in 1961?

• A. Freedom Riders
• B. March on Washington
• C. Black Power
• D. Sit-ins

Answer: (A)

James L. Farmer Jr. helped launch a bold challenge to segregation on interstate travel in 1961, organizing interracial riders to test compliance with Supreme Court rulings. The label that captures this effort and the people involved is Freedom Riders. Farmer’s advocacy and leadership helped popularize that name, and it became the established term for the campaign and its participants. The other options refer to different events or slogans from the civil rights era: the March on Washington occurred in 1963; Black Power emerged as a later movement and phrase; sit-ins describe a tactic used starting in 1960. The term most closely associated with Farmer in 1961 is Freedom Riders.