Julian Bond - A Good and Decent Man

I remember watching the Democratic National Convention in 1968 and being excited about the young man being nominated as Vice President that year. The young man was Julian Bond. Julian Bond passed away this past week. He lived a great life and was a good and decent man. He was a major force and leader in the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, a civil rights leader, an elected official, a past president of the NAACP and a class act in general.

This past May, I saw Julian Bond along with many other people who had been involved in the peace movement at the conference Vietnam, The Power of Protest in Washington, DC. Today, Democracy Now, posted a video of one of Mr. Bond's last speeches that was given that weekend. We had all marched to the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial to celebrate what people had accomplished over the years and to renew our commitment to peace and social change.

During a break at the conference,  Julian Bond and Rennie Davis (Chicago 7) were saying hello, reminiscing and trying to figure out how to take a selfie of themselves. I asked if I could help by taking the photo. I took Julian's phone and snapped a couple of pictures for them. Here is a picture of me with Julian Bond in the background just before I helped him get the picture he wanted.

I was privileged to meet and have a brief encounter with him. He had influenced me greatly and I looked up to him and what he stood for and how he had responded to adversity in his life. Here is the video of Julian Bond's speech that day at the King Memorial with an intro by Danny Glover. Thanks to Democracy Now for sharing it with all of us. Take a minute to hear Julian's story from his own mouth and listen to his message about continuing the struggle.

Julian Bond's Speech

A good and decent man. A man who knew the power of protest and who acted on it.