Julian Bond Remembered as ‘a Friend’ to ASU.
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Posted By: How May I Help You NC on August 19, 2015 Kenneth Mullinax, director, Media Relations, 334-229-4104 - Alabama State joins the nation in remembering the life of Julian Bond, a champion for equality - As the world mourns the loss of civil rights activist and humanitarian Julian Bond, he is being remembered at ASU as a friend to the University. Bond died Saturday at a Fort Walton Beach, Fla., hospital. He was 75 years old. The Rev. Robert Graetz, who is a consultant with ASU’s National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture, had established a friendship with Bond more than 10 years ago, but his admiration for Bond began decades before. “He was one of those that my wife and I thought of as the next generation of leaders,” said Graetz. “The young fellows like John Lewis and Julian Bond and others were brilliant thinkers and orators, with a strong conscience and a determination to do what was right for the movement and for the people.” Graetz and Bond shared a history of involvement in the fight for civil rights. Graetz is a white Lutheran minister who was pastor of a black church in Montgomery during the 50s. His home was bombed, and he and his family lived under constant threats because of their open support of racial equality. Graetz and his wife Jean have worked for more than 50 years to advance the cause of equality. Graetz said Bond was a friend to ASU who was responsible for the Graetz’s decision to donate their historic civil rights documents to the University. The Graetz collection includes photos, letters, documents and even a meticulously documented calendar of activities that span a period from 1956 through some of the pivotal events of the movement such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Selma to Montgomery March and the March on Washington. Bond was first launched onto the national platform during the 1960's, when he was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta. He was a co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which became the voice of young black Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. As a politician, Bond was elected to four terms in the Georgia House of Representatives and six terms in the Georgia Senate. He served as co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, was board chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and taught at several universities. “He (Bond) was here making a speech for ASU, and Dr. (Janice) Franklin asked him about the possibility of leaving his documents here at our archives,” said Graetz. “He said that he already made that commitment, but he told Dr. Franklin that she should talk with me and my wife. He reminded her that we had a good bit of material that we might be willing to donate. And that was the beginning of our donating our own papers and artifacts to the library at Alabama State.” Bond has been a guest speaker at a number of University events over the years. Most recently, he gave the keynote address at the 2014 Robert and Jean Graetz Symposium, where he spoke on the theme, “The Beloved Country: Are We There Yet?” “We are closer to the beloved community than when Dr. King was here, but we have more to do. We can continue doing the things we did when he (King) was alive. We can march, we can protest, and we can yell and scream… all the things we did then,” Bond said during the March 11, 2014 speech. Graetz said he and his wife also are friends with Bond’s wife, Pamela. “She sent out emails during the night on Saturday after he passed, notifying a lot of their personal friends that we had lost him,” said Graetz. “And Sunday morning, all through the day, we and Pam were emailing back and forth. And the last message we got from her was, “God bless you. I thank you for loving Julian.” If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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