Commemorating King
Posted on January 24, 2008
Julian Bond was the first one to comment on the bird whizzing around Wilson auditorium Monday night as he gave his speech to hundreds of listeners.
Awards were presented, the JMU Contemporary Gospel singers performed and welcome addresses were read, but no one acknowledged the fowl as it flapped in front of President Linwood Rose and skimmed the heads of the singers.
“If that bird comes by, catch him,” Bond said in a booming baritone, gripping the edges of the podium.
It was fitting for a man who began his life’s work speaking out against what he called “American apartheid” during the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 70s.
“Those who say race is history have it backwards,” Bond said. “History is race. In order to get beyond race, you have to go through race. Anything else is sophistry.”
Bond remains an outspoken critic of the U.S. government, calling our current political situation a struggle between “neocons, theocons and nativists” and one that “demonstrates an inability to unite to make a decision.”
The grandson of slaves was one of six students in the only class Martin Luther King ever taught at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
“Those were the days when good music was popular and popular music was good…but those were not the good old days,” Bond said.
Bond was a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and devoted much of his time as communications director to voter registration drives in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas, a largely grassroots effort to promote black enfranchisement.
“The spirit of Dr. King hangs over America, especially over elections,” he said, reminding the audience of the importance of the passage of the Voting Rights Act to the movement.
While the Voter Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act were sweeping pieces of legislation intended to break down voting barriers constructed to keeps blacks from voting and prohibit discrimination against them in public places, government and places of employment, Bond said that King’s cause and the NAACP’s work are not black-specific.
“Colored people come in all colors,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense that blacks and Latinos fight over who has less power.”
Bond said his criticism of racial disparities in economics, housing and education as well as the mishandling of Hurricane Katrina was to dispute the argument that the fight for civil rights is over.
“It’s only been a short 40 years or so that black people have actually been free,” Bond said. “Some are telling us those 40 years are enough.”
He spoke candidly about his opinion for the pressing need for more change, including upholding affirmative action legislature, as well as condemned the notion that somehow white males have become the victims.
“Every social indicator, from birth to death, reveals black-white disparities,” he said.
The speech marked the 21st annual MLK celebration at JMU, and Bond noted that even in the 39 since King’s death, his message remains the same.
“Love your enemy,” Bond said. “Get them to engage with you. Work with them. The more you have, the merrier.”
