George Houser

Released
Date of birth:02. 06. 1916
Date of death:19. 08. 2015
Age:99† Deceased
Gender:Male
Race:White
Era:1940s
State:New York
Time Imprisoned:
9 Months 26 Days
Support
Anti-War Civil Rights Anti-Imperialism
No image available

Biography

George Mills Houser was a Methodist minister and pacifist who in 1940, while a student at Union Theological Seminary, refused to register for the draft despite the seminary's offer of an automatic exemption. He and seven Union Seminary classmates ("the Union Eight") were convicted of violating the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 and sentenced to 1 year each at FCI Danbury. After release he co-founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in Chicago in 1942 with James Farmer, Bernice Fisher, and others; led the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation; and from 1953 led the American Committee on Africa supporting decolonization and anti-apartheid struggles.

Case

FCI Danbury
Charges: Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 — refused to register.
Arrested: Oct 16, 1940
Sentenced: Nov 14, 1940
Incarcerated: Nov 14, 1940
Released: Sep 9, 1941
Sentence: 1 year federal prison at FCI Danbury (~9 months served before parole). Charges as recorded: Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 — refused to register for the draft as one of "the Union Eight" Union Theological Seminary students.
Convicted: Yes
Institution State: Connecticut

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