Letter to the Editor: Julian Bond
Photo credit: Eduardo Montes-Bradley, 2012, CC BY-SA 4.0
Dear ALBA,
Julian Bond died on August 14. A few days later, Democracy Now! aired a tribute to him and I was struck by one of the comments by Benjamin Jealous, who was CEO of the NAACP while Julian Bond was President. Jealous recounted how the Sierra Club had asked him to join them in an action in which they’d be chained to the White House gates. He wasn’t sure whether he should participate because the NAACP hadn’t taken a position on the issue. Jealous recalled, “I asked Julian what I should do and he immediately said, ‘I’ll go.'” That willingness to identify himself with a progressive cause reminded me of his immediate endorsement of ALBA and the Human Rights Award, when he was asked to participate. For the last two years, Julian Bond has been a member of the honorary committee for our annual event.
Joy Portugal
