Lynn Pifer, professor of English in the Department of English and Modern Languages and director of MU’s Frederick Douglass Institute from 2004 to 2011, reflects on the passing of Civil Rights Leader Julian Bond and his connection to Mansfield.
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I was shocked and saddened to read the news of the death of Civil
Rights icon, Julian Bond, on Saturday August 15, 2015. He was only 75.
Bond was a hero of mine. Students in my Civil Rights Autobiography and Civil Rights Novel courses have heard his voice-over narration of the excerpts I show from the PBS Eyes on the Prize documentary. He was one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which worked for civil rights, particularly voting rights, in the deep South in the early 1960s. He was elected to the Georgia state legislature in 1965, but was denied his seat by legislators who were angered by his public statements about the war in Vietnam. It took a Supreme Court ruling (Bond v. Floyd) to allow Bond to take his seat. He went on to serve four terms in the Georgia House of Representatives and six terms in the Georgia Senate.
Bond remained active in human rights throughout his life. He served as the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and, later, as Chairman of the NAACP. He was an outspoken voice for civil rights issues, including voting rights, gay rights, and, most recently, marriage equality.
He has al
so spoken at Mansfield University. Twice. His first visit was in 1976, when our current president, Gen. Fran Hendricks, was a student here.
Then, in 2004, I had the honor of bringing him to campus as our first Frederick Douglass Institute (FDI) speaker. We worked with the MU Foundation to bring Mr. Bond in for a donor dinner as well as a public address. Funds from the dinner became the foundation for the FDI student scholarships that we were able to offer for years after Mr. Bond’s visit. He also agreed to spend some time with MU students. We offered the opportunity to a select group of political science majors and African American studies minor
s. This could have been a few quick minutes for handshakes and a photo op, but Mr. Bond took the time to talk with our students. He asked them about their goals and aspirations, and really took the time to listen to and converse with them. He was also charming and well-spoken at the donor dinner, and gave a highly articulate and engaging speech to a packed crowd in Straughn Hall that night. What I will remember most, however, is the time he spent on the Student Mall, talking to the students. I have a photo of them together because one of the students brought a camera and asked me to take a picture. She sent me a copy because she was so proud of her opportunity to meet this Civil Rights Movement legend. At that moment, I was proud too.
Providing opportunities for Mansfield students to connect with important people like Julian Bond—whether in person, in writing, or on film–and to consider ideas from different points of view is what I love about my job. It’s one of the things I love about MU.