Civil rights legend Julian Bond dies at 75. The first president (1971-79) of Southern Poverty Law Center since its founding, Bond was also a co-founder and communications director of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s to his chairmanship of the NAACP in the 21st century. Bond was a visionary and tireless champion for civil and human rights.
In honor of his legacy, we have compiled a list of powerful quotes by Bond.
On Poor Education for Blacks:
“Violence is Black children going to school for 12 years and receiving 6 years’ worth of education.”
On Unemployment for Blacks:
“As legal slavery passed, we entered into a permanent period of unemployment and underemployment from which we have yet to emerge.”
On Inspiring the Youth:
“I tell young people to prepare themselves as best they can for a world that grows more challenging every day-get the best education they can, and couple that education with real-life experience in social justice work.”
On the Civil Rights Struggle:
“I do think that some of us began to realize that this was going to be a long struggle that was going to go on for decades, and you’d have to knuckle down. A lot of people in our generation did that. They didn’t drop out and run away.”
On Equal Rights:
“The humanity of all Americans is diminished when any group is denied rights granted to others.”
On Appreciating Everyone’s Rights:
“I think you could not be in the civil rights movement without having an appreciation for everybody’s rights. That these rights are not divisible.”
On the Definition of Civil Rights:
“There’s this big debate that goes on in America about what rights are: Civil rights, human rights, what they are? And I think it’s—in part—it’s an artificial debate. Because everybody has rights.”
