Julian+Bond




 * Julian Bond** is civil rights activist who has worked for several government and civil liberties groups such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the [|National Association for the Advancement of Colored People] (NAACP), the Premier Auto Group (PAG) Diversity Council, the Georgia General Assembly, and countless others. He has served jail time for his convictions, but continues to be an avid supporter of social justice, evident in his essays, published under the title __A Time to Speak, A Time to Act__, and his poems that have appeared in //The New York Times//, __American Negro Poetry__, //The Los Angeles Times//, and several other national publications.

Born Horace Julian Bond on January 14, 1940 in Nashville, Tennessee, he was destined for greatness. His father, Dr. Horace Mann Bond, was the first black president of Fort Valley State College, and in 1945, he became the first black president of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Julia Washington Bond, his mother, worked as a librarian until she retired in her 90s. Bond's family lived at Lincoln until 1957 when Dr. Bond became Dean of the School of Education at Atlanta University.
 * __Early Life and Education__**

In 1957, Bond graduated from a Quaker school in Bucks County, Pennsylvania called the Georgia School, where he participated in varsity swimming. That same year, he entered Morehouse College in Atlanta. While a student, Bond founded the Committee on Appeal for Human Rights (COAHR), a student civil rights organization that helped win integration of Atlanta's parks, movie theaters, and lunch counters. He was also one of the hundreds of students in the South who formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Bond became SNCC's communications director, and was involved in editing the SNCC newsletter __The Student Voice__. In 1961, he left Morehouse one semester short of graduation to join the staff of //The Atlanta Inquirer//, an up-and-coming protest newspaper. He later became the paper's managing editor. Bond returned to Morehouse in 1971 and graduated with a B.A. in english.

Bond was elected to the Georgia House of Representative in 1965, but was prevented from taking his seat twice because of his vocal opposition of the Vietnam War. He was eventually seated by a decision from the Supreme Court that they were violating his rights. During his twenty years of service on the Georgia General Assembly, he was the sponsor or co-sponsor of more than sixty bills that became law, and he organized the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, which at the time was the largest such group in the nation.
 * __Career__**

In 1968, Bond was the co-chairman of the Georgia Loyal National Delegation to the Democratic Convention. After successfully unseating many of Georgia's regular democrats, the party nominated Bond for Vice President of the United States, but he declined because he believed he was too young for the position.

Bond founded and became president of the Southern Elections Fund (SEF) in 1969. The SEF was an early political action committee which aided the election of rural southern black candidates.

When the [|Southern Poverty Law Center] (SPLC) was founded in 1971, Bond was the first president, and he is now on the Board of Directors. During his time with SPLC, he lent his voice to the narration of two of their videos: Academy Award nominated "The Shadow of Hate", and Academy Award winning "A Time for Justice."

Bond is currently serving as Chairman of the Board of the NAACP, which he has been doing since 1998. He is also a distinguished scholar in residence at American University and a professor in the history department at the University of Virginia.

As an outspoken supporter of gay and lesbian rights, Bond publicly boycotted the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr.'s wife, Coretta Scott King because the the Kings' children chose an anti-gay church for the funeral, which he believed was a direct contradiction of Coretta Scott King's support for the gay community.
 * __Other Notable Facts__**

In 1999, Bond received an honorary LL.D. from Bates College, in 2002, he received the prestigious National Freedom Award, and in 2008, he received an honorary degree from George Washington University, where he delivered the keynote speech at commencement.

Bonds many media appearances include being a commentator on America's Black Forum, the oldest black-owned show in television, hosting multiple episodes of Saturday Night Live, and making a short appearance in the movie //Ray//.

__Julian Bond__. Ed. Clayton. Nov. 2002. 20 Feb. 2009 .
 * __Bibliography__**

__SNCC__. Ed. Adam Pawluk. 2008. ibiblio. 20 Feb. 2009 .

__Southern Poverty Law Center__. Ed. Paul Green. 2009. Southern Poverty Law Center. 20 Feb. 2009 .

__The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People__. "Data Entry Clerk" Eds. Jackie Anderson Sharon Chew, Sidra Kirnon, and Wanda Worrell. 2009. NAACP. 20 Feb. 2009 .