In Memoriam Julian Bond
By Paul Craig Roberts
August 17, 2015 "Information
Clearing House" -
Julian Bond, the black civil rights activist
who was thrice elected to the Georgia legislature before the US
Supreme Court finally ruled that the Georgia House could not deny
him his seat, died on August 15.
Julian Bond was a student at Morehouse College,
one of the colleges that made up Atlanta University, when I was a
student at Georgia Tech. I was active on the International Students
Committee at Tech. The committee had sponsored several dark skinned
students from abroad, and we could only get them into the movie
theaters by having them wrap their heads in turbans and show their
Ga Tech student ID. As Ga Tech itself was segregated, a Tech ID was
proof that the movie ticket purchaser was on the right side of the
color line. We were interested when we heard that Bond had formed a
student rights organization working to desegregate the movie
theaters in the city.
Some of us from Tech began attending meetings of
Bond’s organization at the black colleges that comprised Atlanta
University. There I met Bond and Lilian Smith, authoress of
Strange Fruit. A collaboration developed with Ga Tech students
participating in Atlanta’s first civil rights march through the
city. The march was led by Halmar, a tall blond Norwegian who was a
graduate student in Chemistry at Tech. No dogs were sicced on the
march.
It was a rewarding experience to see people
standing up for their constitutional rights. In those days at least
white people had constitutional rights. In the 21st century a white
president and a black one have taken away everyone’s civil rights.
Today a civil rights movement is needed more than ever, but where
are the leaders?
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and
associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for
Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate.
He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have
attracted a worldwide following. Roberts' latest books are
The Failure of Laissez
Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West
and
How America Was Lost.
