HJ423: Celebrating the life of Horace Julian Bond.


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 423
Celebrating the life of Horace Julian Bond.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 8, 2016
Agreed to by the Senate, March 10, 2016

 

WHEREAS, Horace Julian Bond, an accomplished civil rights leader who devoted his life to the fight for justice and equality, a longtime public servant in Georgia, and professor emeritus at the University of Virginia, died on August 15, 2015; and

WHEREAS, born in Nashville, Tennessee, Julian Bond was reared in Pennsylvania, where his father served as president of Lincoln University; he attended Morehouse College, where he was a onetime student of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and led nonviolent sit-ins that resulted in the desegregation of local businesses; and

WHEREAS, Julian Bond was inspired to take up the cause of civil rights from a young age; he was a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and served as its communications director; and

WHEREAS, in 1965, Julian Bond was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives at the age of 25; after members of the Georgia General Assembly sought to prevent him from taking his seat, Julian Bond took his case to the Supreme Court of the United Sates, which ruled in his favor; and

WHEREAS, Julian Bond served four terms in the Georgia House of Representatives and six terms in the Georgia Senate; he helped create a majority Black congressional district in Atlanta and organized the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus; and

WHEREAS, known nationally for his passionate speeches on race, poverty, and equality, Julian Bond also served as the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center from 1971 to 1976; he later moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked as a newspaper columnist, television commentator, and speaker; and

WHEREAS, following in his father’s footsteps as an educator, Julian Bond inspired and motivated students at American University, the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, Harvard University, Williams College, and the University of Virginia, where he was named professor emeritus of history and the Julian Bond Professorship in Civil Rights and Social Justice position was created in his honor; and

WHEREAS, Julian Bond enthralled students with firsthand accounts of the Civil Rights Movement at the University of Virginia, where there was a waiting list to attend his classes; he also continued to support the African American community as chair of the NAACP from 1998 to 2010; and

WHEREAS, Julian Bond was a member of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture Civil Rights History Project Advisory Panel, an associate in Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, and a member of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights Global Advisory Board; and

WHEREAS, earning many awards and accolades throughout his distinguished career, Julian Bond earned the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP, the National Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum, and several honorary doctorates; and

WHEREAS, Julian Bond will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife; his children and their families; and numerous other family members, friends, and colleagues; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Horace Julian Bond, an admired civil rights leader, educator, and public servant; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Horace Julian Bond as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 423

Offered March 3, 2016
Celebrating the life of Horace Julian Bond.

Patrons-- Toscano, Bagby, Boysko, Carr, Cole, Davis, Hope, Kory, Krizek, Landes, Levine, Lindsey, Massie, Murphy, Plum, Rasoul, Simon, Spruill, Sullivan, Ware and Watts; Senators: Dance, Deeds, Ebbin, Favola, Howell, Surovell and Wexton

WHEREAS, Horace Julian Bond, an accomplished civil rights leader who devoted his life to the fight for justice and equality, a longtime public servant in Georgia, and professor emeritus at the University of Virginia, died on August 15, 2015; and

WHEREAS, born in Nashville, Tennessee, Julian Bond was reared in Pennsylvania, where his father served as president of Lincoln University; he attended Morehouse College, where he was a onetime student of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and led nonviolent sit-ins that resulted in the desegregation of local businesses; and

WHEREAS, Julian Bond was inspired to take up the cause of civil rights from a young age; he was a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and served as its communications director; and

WHEREAS, in 1965, Julian Bond was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives at the age of 25; after members of the Georgia General Assembly sought to prevent him from taking his seat, Julian Bond took his case to the Supreme Court of the United Sates, which ruled in his favor; and

WHEREAS, Julian Bond served four terms in the Georgia House of Representatives and six terms in the Georgia Senate; he helped create a majority Black congressional district in Atlanta and organized the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus; and

WHEREAS, known nationally for his passionate speeches on race, poverty, and equality, Julian Bond also served as the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center from 1971 to 1976; he later moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked as a newspaper columnist, television commentator, and speaker; and

WHEREAS, following in his father’s footsteps as an educator, Julian Bond inspired and motivated students at American University, the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, Harvard University, Williams College, and the University of Virginia, where he was named professor emeritus of history and the Julian Bond Professorship in Civil Rights and Social Justice position was created in his honor; and

WHEREAS, Julian Bond enthralled students with firsthand accounts of the Civil Rights Movement at the University of Virginia, where there was a waiting list to attend his classes; he also continued to support the African American community as chair of the NAACP from 1998 to 2010; and

WHEREAS, Julian Bond was a member of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture Civil Rights History Project Advisory Panel, an associate in Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research, and a member of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights Global Advisory Board; and

WHEREAS, earning many awards and accolades throughout his distinguished career, Julian Bond earned the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP, the National Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum, and several honorary doctorates; and

WHEREAS, Julian Bond will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife; his children and their families; and numerous other family members, friends, and colleagues; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Horace Julian Bond, an admired civil rights leader, educator, and public servant; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Horace Julian Bond as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.