Ira Helser Latimer (1906–1985) was an educator, missionary, activist, and lawyer who advocated for civil rights and equal accommodation for African Americans in Chicago. Minneapolis mayor Thomas Erwin Latimer was his father.

Life

He was born in Columbus, Ohio. He was raised as Ira Jenkins until his father's paternity was revealed when Ira was working as a radio broadcaster. He married and had a son and daughter.

Career

He was denied admittance to the Illinois Bar. He wrote to

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...

about his difficulties with LeMoyne College in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. He wrote a thesis on African American politics at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. As executive director of the Chicago Civil Liberties Commission, he was involved in protests over the banning of

Maude Hutchins Maude Hutchins (4 Feb 1899 – 28 March 1991) was an American artist, sculptor, and novelist from New York. Early life and education Maude Hutchins was born Maude Phelps McVeigh on February 4, 1899 in Guilford, New York. She was the daughter of ...

' book ''A Diary of Love'' in Chicago.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latimer, Ira Helser People from Columbus, Ohio 1906 births 1985 deaths Activists from Ohio LeMoyne–Owen College alumni Ohio State University alumni Activists for African-American civil rights