The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Board of Directors honored the legacy of Chairman Emeritus H. Julian Bond at a memorial tribute October 16 at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.
“It is fitting that as the NAACP meets this week in Washington to discuss today’s civil rights agenda, that we pause this evening to pay tribute and honor the legacy of our Chairman Emeritus H. Julian Bond,” said NAACP Chairman Roslyn M. Brock last Friday.
“His impact on our organization and this country reminds us that courage must not skip our generation and that we have an obligation to continue working for equality for all.”
The program featured tributes from Mr. Bond’s five children and special remembrances from colleagues and former students. Special invited guests include Congressman Bobby Scott and Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund. The event will also feature a special performance by Chelsey Green and the Green Project. The event is open to the public but seating is limited. The event will be held at the Washington Hilton Hotel, International Ballroom East, 1919 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC.
Chairman Emeritus Bond passed away in August after a brief illness. He was a lifelong civil rights advocate, warrior, and educator. He was a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and served as communications director from 1961 to 1966. Bond graduated from Morehouse and helped found the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). He was the organization’s president from 1971 to 1979.
From 1965 to 1975, he served in the Georgia House and served six terms in the Georgia Senate from 1975 to 1986. In the 1980s and ‘90s, he taught at several universities, including American, Drexel, Williams, the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard universities and the University of Virginia.
Bond continued with his activism as Chairman Emeritus of the NAACP, serving 11 years as Chair, and working to educate the public about the history of the Civil Rights Movement and the struggles that African Americans endured.
