Civil Rights Activist Julian Bond Passes Away at 75

One of civil rights greatest fighters has passed away. Julian Bond, a longtime chairman of The NAACP died at the age of 75 after a brief illness according to a statement released by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“With Julian’s passing, the country has lost one of its most passionate and eloquent voices for the cause of justice. He advocated not just for African Americans, but for every group, indeed every person subject to oppression and discrimination, because he recognized the common humanity in us all.” SPLC co-founder Morris Dees said in a statement.

Mr. Bond was a man of many talents, a writer, poet, lecturer, and tv commentator, he also served in government for more than 20 years as a Georgia legislator. But he began to take up the fight for Civil Rights at the age of 17 while attending Morehouse College. He was often at the forefront of many Civil Rights protests in the 60's and was considered one of the more cooler, calmer, voices in the Civil Rights struggle. From there he would move on to help build the NAACP and from then until his death, tirelessly fought for civil rights for all.

He is survived by his wife, Pamela Horowitz, a former staff attorney for the law center, and five children.