Julian Bond: dies

Julian Bond, a US civil rights activist and longtime chair of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), has died.

He was aged 75.

Bond died Saturday night in Fort Walton Beach, Florida after a brief illness, the Southern Poverty Law Center said.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, he was considered a symbol and icon of the 1960s civil rights movement in the US.

As a Morehouse College student, Bond helped found the student non-violent coordinating committee, and as its communications director he was on the frontline of protests that led to landmark civil rights laws.

He later served as chair of the 500,000-member NAACP for a decade, but declined to run again for the post in 2010. He also served in the Georgia state legislature and was a professor at American University in Washington DC and the University of Virginia.

The Southern Poverty Law Centre called Bond a visionary and tireless champion for civil and human rights.

Here is the statement by SPLC announcing Bond’s death:

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of legendary civil rights activist Julian Bond, SPLC’s first president. He was 75 years old and died last evening, August 15, in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

From his days as the co-founder and communications director of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s to his chairmanship of the NAACP in the 21st century, Julian was a visionary and tireless champion for civil and human rights. He served as the SPLC’s president from our founding in 1971 to 1979, and later as a member of its board of directors.

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.

Julian is survived by his wife, Pamela Horowitz, a former SPLC staff attorney, and his five children”.