I’ve been on a social media “fast” so I was late to the news of the death of one of my heroes, Julian Bond. As an astute student of our history and its’ warriors, I LOVED Julian Bond. One of the most significant memories, from my childhood, which helped forged my pride as an African American, was a televised debate of Julian Bond against the Grand Wizard of the KKK. I later wrote in my book, Evolution Of A Woman, that “It will forever amaze me that the “general public” could watch such a lucid juxtaposition of brilliance and ignorance, and still collectively side with the later. Not me though. I read his autobiography* after that (in college), and inducted him into my own Hall Of Fame.” Then, I included the following tribute, which I wrote back then:
JULIAN BOND
Pensive
Reflective
Introspective
Sincere
Aware
Articulate
Deliberator
A Man,
H.J.B.
At the end, I asked, “Where have all the warriors gone?”
I couldn’t find that debate on YouTube. In fact, it’s hard to find any videos of him when he was in his Brilliant, Tenacious, Articulate, Undefeatable prime. Also, it’s exceptionally hard to find the book I read about him in college. As I dig, I’m finding a book that sounds familiar, “Julian Bond. Black Rebel” by John Neary, so I just ordered it. But know that, it is getting harder and harder to find accurate, comprehensive books or videos chronicling our history so be aggressive about it. As for Bond, know that before there was Barack Obama, there was Julian Bond-- Founder of the SNCC, CoFounder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, former head of the NAACP, instrumental in getting the Voter’s Rights Act of 1964 passed, and a key organizer of Black Voter’s Registration at the time… denied his seat in the Georgia State Legislature after WINNING, because of his stand against America’s participation in Vietnam and his agreement with those unwilling to be drafted. He fought for his seat for TWO YEARS, taking it all the way to the Supreme Court before he was finally given his rightful, elected seat, and, even then, Horace Julian Bond in his low key, intractable, articulate manner, CONTINUED to assail America for it’s imperialist pursuits in Vietnam and other parts of the world. And, never shooting from the hip, the man was always extremely well educated on any position he undertook.
I urge you to take it upon yourselves to research this man for yourself. However, like I said, the revisionists are busy. It is very hard, if not impossible. to find key information about his legacy, but so worth the hunt. In the meantime, here is an impassioned, “mini history lesson” of about 5 minutes on the magnitude of this true World Shifter. I LOVE this man, as I do so many of our other champions, male and female. And, I am so very, very grateful for all he, and our other “Guardians of OUR Galaxy”, fought for to strengthen our hearts, our self concept, our view of the world, and secure our place in it. God Bless you, Mr. Bond.
