On The Front Lines
Julian Bond, Civil Rights Activist and Chairman of the NAACP, Talks About Martin Luther King, Jr., Race Relations in America, and His Own Legacy of Activism in Exclusive oldSpeak Interview
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.-- oldSpeak, an online publication of The Rutherford Institute, this week hosts an exclusive interview with civil rights activist and current NAACP chairman Julian Bond. In his interview with Institute president John W. Whitehead, Bond talks about his relationship with Martin Luther King, Jr., his own impressive legacy of activism, Trent Lott, cross burning, the state of race relations in present-day America and passing the torch to the next generation of civil rights leaders.Born in Tennessee and raised in Pennsylvania, Bond attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he co-founded in 1960 the Committee on Appeal for Human Rights (COAHR), the Atlanta University Center student civil rights organization that directed three years of non-violent anti-segregation protests that won integration of Atlanta's movie theaters, lunch counters, and parks. Bond was arrested for sitting in at the then-segregated cafeteria at Atlanta City Hall. In 1965, Bond was elected to a one-year term in the Georgia House of Representatives, but members of the House voted not to seat him because of his outspoken opposition to the war in Vietnam. Bond won a second election, to fill his vacant seat, in 1966, and again the Georgia House voted to bar him from membership. He won a third election, this time for a two-year term, in November 1966, and in December the U. S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Georgia House had violated Bond's rights in refusing him his seat.
Currently a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at American University in Washington, D.C., and a faculty member in the history department at the University of Virginia, Bond continues to be outspoken. When asked if Dr. King's legacy had been realized, Bond told oldSpeak, "No, far from it. It has been partially realized. When he began his public life in '55, we lived in a legally apartheid society that ended mostly because of his works in 1964 and 1965. But we still have a society that--if not legally, at least in other ways--is an apartheid society, and we need to move beyond that." At this summer's 93rd annual NAACP convention, Bond blasted President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft, attacking Bush for his civil rights record by accusing him of dealing in "snake oil" and calling Ashcroft "a cross between J. Edgar Hoover and Jerry Falwell." "There is a right-wing conspiracy," Bond told the assembled audience. "And it is operating out of the United States Department of Justice."
oldSpeak is dedicated to publishing interviews, articles and commentary on subjects often overlooked by the mainstream media in the areas of politics, arts and culture, law and religion. The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
Press Contact
Nisha N. MohammedPh: (434) 978-3888, ext. 604; Pager: 800-946-4646, Pin #: 1478257
Email: Nisha N. Mohammed
