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Julian Bond – prominent U.S. civil rights leader dies – he was 75
While attending Morehouse College in 1960, Bond organized a group that staged student sit-ins with the aim of integrating movie theaters, lunch counters and other public facilities in Atlanta. Then came his work as one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, organized by black college students to stage sit-ins throughout the South.
“I was one of many who seized the opportunity the ’60s sit-ins presented – to fight segregation through the simplest tactic, sitting down,” Bond said in a 2006 interview with reporters.
In 1965, Bond was elected as a Democrat to the Georgia House of Representatives. But members of the legislature refused to seat him, citing his vocal opposition to the Vietnam War, a posture they called “repugnant” and “inconsistent” with the oath of office he was required to take.
Bond said his opponents may have been motivated by more than his war stance.
“I strongly suspect my race was also a reason. I was part of a group of black legislators elected with me who integrated the lower house for the first time since Reconstruction,” Bond said in 2006.
Before Bond was allowed to join the Georgia House a year later, he had to twice win re-election to his own vacant seat, and the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that his rights had been violated. He ended up serving 20 years in the Georgia House and Senate.
In 1986, Bond staged an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives, losing to another civil rights giant, John Lewis.
Bond also taught at several colleges and universities and became a published author. In later years, he was a regular commentator for “The Today Show,” and even hosted NBC’s late- night comedy show, “Saturday Night Live.”
He is survived by his second wife, Pamela Horowitz, and his 5 children, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Source: Reuters
