Remembering Julian Bond ~ A Self-Described 'Race Man'

JULIAN BOND 

January 14, 1940 ~ August 15, 2015

Image: Public Domain

I want to have a double-sided tombstone, so you have something on each side. And on one side, it's going to say "Race Man." A race man is an expression that's not used anymore, but it used to describe a man—usually a man, could have been a woman too—who was a good defender of the race, who didn't dislike white people, but who stood up for black people, who fought for black people. I'd want people to say that about me. He was a race man. There's no implication here that white people are evil, just that black people are good people and they need somebody to fight for them, and I'm that person. The other side is going to say "Easily Amused," because I am easily amused. {A Conversation With Julian Bond}

David Love, JD and Bill Fletcher, Editorial Staff at The Black Commentator wrote two articles on Mr. Bond while on hiatus.  They wrote respectively,  'Why Julian Bond Mattered to the Movement' and 'Saying Good-bye and Thank You to Julian Bond' with memorable quotes and  reminiscences  of the struggle for civil/human rights and Mr. Bond's many role(s) up until the time he transitioned.  They are must reads.

 Mr. Mandela summed it up best...