37 Facts About Julian Bond

Horace Julian Bond was an American social activist, leader of the civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer.

Julian Bond was born in 1940 at Hubbard Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, to parents Julia Agnes and Horace Mann Julian Bond.

Julian Bond's father was an educator, then president of Fort Valley State College.

Julian Bond's mother, Julia, was a former librarian at Clark Atlanta University, a historically black college.

In 1945, Julian Bond's father accepted the position of president of Lincoln University, where he was its first African-American president, and the family moved North.

In 1957, Julian Bond graduated from George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Julian Bond started attending Morehouse College, a historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia.

In 1961, Bond left Morehouse to join the staff of the Atlanta Inquirer, a new black protest paper he had helped establish in the summer of 1960 with Jesse Hill, Herman J Russell, and various other students in the Atlanta Student Movement including Charlayne Hunter-Gault, and Lonnie King.

At age 31, with SNCC shedding staff and volunteers after its abortive merger with Black Panther Party, Julian Bond returned to Morehouse College in 1971, to complete his Bachelor of Arts in English.

Five of the representatives who did vote to seat Julian Bond were white, including Republican Rodney Cook.

From 1967 to 1975, Julian Bond was elected to four terms in the Georgia House, where he organized the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus.

In January 1967, Julian Bond was among eleven Georgia House members who refused to vote when the legislature elected segregationist Democrat Lester Maddox of Atlanta as governor of Georgia over the Republican Bo Callaway.

Julian Bond was elected in 1974 for the first of six terms in the Georgia Senate, where he served from 1975 to 1987.

The 28-year-old Julian Bond quickly declined, citing the constitutional requirement that one must be at least 35 years of age to serve in that office.

Julian Bond ran for the United States House of Representatives from Georgia's 5th congressional district in 1986.

Julian Bond lost the Democratic nomination in a primary runoff to rival civil rights leader John Lewis in a bitter contest.

Julian Bond refused, saying the drug test was akin to McCarthyism and trivialized the issue of drugs.

Still dogged by allegations of drug use, Julian Bond resigned from the Georgia Senate the following year.

Julian Bond's estranged wife, Alice, who had publicly accused him of using cocaine, later retracted her statements.

Julian Bond taught the history of the civil rights movement at the University of Virginia from 1990 to 2012.

Julian Bond was on the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service.

Julian Bond served as its president until 1979, and was an emeritus member of its board of directors at the time of his death in 2015.

In 1998, Julian Bond was selected as chairman of the NAACP.

Julian Bond agreed to stay on in the position through 2009, as the organization celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Julian Bond was an outspoken supporter of the rights of gays and lesbians.

On October 11,2009, Julian Bond appeared at the National Equality March in Washington, DC, and spoke about the rights of the LGBT community, a speech that was aired live on C-SPAN.

Julian Bond was a strong critic of policies that contribute to anthropogenic climate change.

Julian Bond was among a group of protesters arrested at the White House for civil disobedience in opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline in February 2013.

Julian Bond specifically criticized Attorney General John Ashcroft, who had opposed affirmative action, and Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who defended the Confederacy in a 1996 speech on states' rights.

On May 14,2013, while appearing on MSNBC, Julian Bond called the Tea Party the "Taliban wing of American politics".

Julian Bond was a commentator for radio's Byline and NBC's The Today Show.

Julian Bond authored the nationally syndicated newspaper column Viewpoint, and narrated the critically acclaimed PBS series Eyes on the Prize in 1987 and 1990.

Julian Bond hosted Saturday Night Live on April 9,1977, becoming the first black political figure to do so.

Julian Bond had a small appearance playing State Representative John E White in the movie Ray, and played himself in the movie 5 to 7.

On July 28,1961, Julian Bond married Alice Clopton, a student at Spelman College.

In 1990 Julian Bond married Pamela Sue Horowitz, a former SPLC staff attorney.

Julian Bond died from complications of vascular disease on August 15,2015, in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, at the age of 75.