“With Julian’s passing, the country has lost one of its most passionate and eloquent voices for the cause of justice,” Southern Poverty Law Center founder Morris Dees said in a statement.
Former NAACP chairman Julian Bond takes part in the "Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement" panel during the Civil Rights Summit on Wednesday, April 9, 2014, in Austin, Texas.
Jack Plunkett / AP
WASHINGTON — Julian Bond, one of the longtime leaders within the civil rights movement, died on Aug. 15, the founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which Bond once led, announced.
From Bond's time as one of the co-founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to his leadership of SPLC to his time in more recent years as the chairman of the NAACP, Bond was a key figure in most of the civil rights battles for more than the past 50 years.
Bond was 75 and died in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, according to the SPLC statement released in the early morning on Sunday. In addition to his work with civil rights organizations, Bond served for two decades in the Georgia legislature and, later, was a professor at American University. He is survived by his wife, Pamela Horowitz, and his five children.
In his statement, SPLC founder Morris Dees wrote, "With Julian's passing, the country has lost one of its most passionate and eloquent voices for the cause of justice. He advocated not just for African Americans, but for every group, indeed every person subject to oppression and discrimination, because he recognized the common humanity in us all."
Just before the inauguration of President Obama in 2009, Bond wrote for Time magazine, "The work the NAACP has done for 100 years now has had success that we didn't dream of. We weren't working to make a black person President of the United States, but it was a natural result."
A few years later, in October 2011, Bond — who had long been supportive of LGBT rights — endorsed marriage equality for same-sex couples.
Julian Bond speaks during an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, in Washington.
Carolyn Kaster / AP
In 2013, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, Bond wrote a column for the Human Rights Campaign about the march and his commitment to LGBT rights:
"In August 1963, I was the Communications Director for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), led at the time by John Lewis, the march's youngest speaker that day. ...
"Fifty years later, I can still feel the power of that noble, August day. Its weight is what drove me for years – from founding the Southern Poverty Law Center, to overseeing the NAACP as Chairman, not to mention the ten terms I served as a member of the Georgia legislature. And later, that exact same commitment to achieving equal rights is what convinced me to stand with the Human Rights Campaign in endorsing marriage equality."
Chad Griffin, the president of HRC, told BuzzFeed News, "Very few throughout human history have embodied the ideals of honor, dignity, courage and friendship like Dr. Julian Bond. Quite simply, this nation and this world are far better because of his life and commitment to justice and equality for all people. Future generations will look back on the life and legacy of Julian Bond and see a warrior of good who helped conquer hate in the name of love. I will greatly miss my friend and my hero, Dr. Julian Bond."
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