The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is deeply saddened by the passing of civil rights trailblazer, Julian Bond, who died Saturday night at the age of 75. A lifelong activist and icon of the American Civil Rights Movement, Bond co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) while attending Morehouse College in the 1960s. Shortly thereafter, he galvanized students, veterans, and activists, organizing voter registration drives and protests in opposition to the racist laws of the Jim Crow South. He served as the first president and co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and later chaired the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Following the Voting Rights Acts of 1965, Bond was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives; however, members of the House refused to seat him, citing his outspoken criticism of the U.S. government’s role in the Vietnam War. Bond took his case to the Supreme Court with representation from two NLG attorneys, Howard Moore, Jr. and Leonard B. Boudin—and won. He then served two decades on the Georgia House and Senate—advocating on behalf of low-income residents and communities of color—making him the most elected African American public official in the state’s history.
Atlanta Guild member Brian Spears commented, “Julian Bond had a profound and lasting impact on the politics of Georgia, the South, and our nation. While in the State legislature, he fought to establish effective civil rights laws, improved welfare legislation, a minimum wage provision, the abolition of the death penalty, increased funding for schools, and anti-poverty programs. His insight, humanity and fighting spirit will be deeply missed by us all.”
