By Leroy Gadsden
The Jamaica Branch NAACP salutes the life and legacy of NAACP executive board member and former board chairman, Julian Bond who died Aug. 15. Mr. Bond dedicated his entire life towards civil rights and the upward mobility of mankind.
Bond was a civil rights legend. Even though he walked with kings, he never lost the common touch. Some of his accomplishments included: founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the turbulent civil rights era of the Sixties, one of the first African Americans elected to the Georgia State Legislature since reconstruction and NAACP chairman of the board.
Bond never lost his vision or desire for equal opportunity for all in America. I knew him as a gentle giant during my past 30 years in the NAACP. Even though he was nationally recognized, Bond was one of the most humble persons you could meet.
Regardless of how tired he was or who he was with, he always had time to speak to people and share words of wisdom. I spoke to him a few weeks ago at our National Convention in Philadelphia as he walked about the convention floor greeting and mingling with ordinary everyday people. But his kindness and gentleness were never misconstrued as weakness.
There is a time for everything and when it was time to lead, Bond led us in the NAACP for 12 years as chairman during some of our turbulent years. He led with a gentle but firm and knowledgeable leadership befitting one who had lived the violent struggle for the advancement and equality for all people. This was the chairman who as a young African American male in the cradle of the Deep South had led many of the dangerous marches and demonstrations that led to passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
We were the benefactors of his experience. Even after he stepped down from his position as NAACP executive board chairman, he remained active on the National Board as chairman emeritus. We salute his memory and say, thanks, Mr. Bond, for making the United States Constitution meaningful and real to all people. We give thanks to the almighty God for his decades of service and leadership.
Leroy Gadsden
President, Jamaica Branch NAACP
