August 20, 2015
By Freddie Allen
NNPA Senior Washington Correspondent
Julian Bond, a founding member and communications director of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and immediate past board chairman of the NAACP, is being praised for his lifelong human rights contributions by people ranging from President Obama and his former civil rights colleagues to ordinary people who have benefited from his courage and advocacy.
Bond, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), died Saturday night, August 15, at the age of 75. He served as the president of the SPLC, a legal advocacy organization that promotes equality and tracks hate groups, from 1971 to 1979 and later on the board of directors, according to a statement issued by the group.
“With Julian’s passing, the country has lost one of its most passionate and eloquent voices for the cause of justice,” SPLC said in a statement announcing Bond’s death. “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.”
The statement continued: “Not only has the country lost a hero today, we’ve lost a great friend.”
President Obama said in a statement, “Julian Bond was a hero and, I’m privileged to say, a friend. Justice and equality was the mission that spanned his life – from his leadership of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, to his founding role with the Southern Poverty Law Center, to his pioneering service in the Georgia legislature and his steady hand at the helm of the NAACP. Michelle and I have benefited from his example, his counsel, and his friendship – and we offer our prayers and sympathies to his wife, Pamela, and his children.”
Obama added, “Julian Bond helped change this country for the better. And what better way to be remembered than that.”
Denise Rolark Barnes, Chairperson of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and publisher of The Washington Informer, said: “On behalf of the members of the National Newspaper Publishers Association – the Black Press of America – we are extremely saddened to learn of the recent death of Julian Bond, a stalwart of the Civil and Human Rights Movement. His lifelong dedication and commitment to political and economic empowerment, journalistic diversity and integrity, and educational equality served as a beacon for others to follow. His presence and voice will be sorely missed, but his words remain true for the NNPA: ‘Good things don’t come to those who wait. They come to those who agitate!’ Julian Bond, thank you. Now may you rest in peace!”
NNPA President and CEO Benjamin F. Chavis said, “On behalf of the National Newspapers Publishers Association (NNPA), we mourn the passing of civil rights leader Julian Bond. The enduring impact of Bond’s legacy was his long-term dedication to fight for freedom, justice and equality. As an effective chairman of the NAACP, cofounder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Georgia State Senator, college professor and columnist for the NNPA, Julian Bond was a gallant warrior who championed the interests of Black America.”
Horace Julian Bond was born Jan. 14, 1940, in Nashville, Tenn. His father, Horace Mann Bond, was a prominent educator, serving as president of Fort Valley State University in Georgia and the first Black president of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, his alma mater.
During his time with SNCC, Julian Bond protested against segregation of public facilities in Georgia and was arrested during a sit-in at Atlanta’s City Hall.
Later, as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, he was a vocal critic of the Vietnam War. When the White members of the House refused to seat him because of his opposition to the war, Bond took his case to the United States Supreme Court where he won a unanimous ruling in 1966, that said the legislature had violated the young lawmakers right to freedom of speech and ordered the state officials to seat him. Bond served in the Georgia’s House for a decade and went on to serve six terms in the state senate.
He ran for the United States House of Representatives, but lost a bitter race to John Lewis, a former colleague who had been chairman of SNCC.
Bond was elected as chairman of the board of the NAACP in 1998 and served for 11 years. Bond was not only a consistent agent for civil rights, he was also a writer, poet, author and professor at number of colleges and universities, including American University in Washington, D.C., the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University and the University of Virginia.
Bond also narrated “Eyes on the Prize,” a documentary on the Civil Rights Movement, that was nominated for an Academy Award in 1988.
Mary Frances Berry, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania and former chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, recalled Bond challenging the credentials of the all-White Georgia delegation at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago and becoming the first African American nominated for vice president by a major party.
“It was on TV. It was all over the place and people who had never seen Julian saw this very bright, funny guy and then we had to point out that he was too young for the nomination,” Berry said chuckling. “That sort of thing sticks in everybody’s mind. When people saw him and who this guy was, it was like a meteor went across the sky. In a way, it was like, years later, when people first saw Barack Obama.”
Berry added: “Here’s this personable guy with a twinkle in his eye and he’s sort of cute and he’s funny and he has stature immediately. You had to pay attention to this.”
Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 human and civil rights organizations, said in a statement: “Bond measured civil and human rights by a single yard stick and he applied that guiding principle of equality to all people. He was a champion for immigrants and immigration reform, a leader in the fight against poverty, and a passionate advocate for the equal rights of LGBT people. He is one of our icons and will be deeply missed. But his moral voice will continue to be a guide for all of us seeking to advance civil and human rights for all people.”
Derrick Johnson, who served on the national NAACP board with Bond, recalled Bond’s famous ability to remain composed under fire.
“He was always a voice of reason and someone who could paint a clear picture of the significance and the role of the struggle for human dignity for African Americans in this country,” said Johnson, president of the state conference of the Mississippi NAACP.
Hilary Shelton, Washington D.C. bureau chief of the NAACP, agrees.
“Julian embodied someone who was meticulous in their assessment of the problems and challenges of the African American community and people who supported civil rights and human rights everywhere,” he said. “Julian Bond was an American icon.”
Shelton said that Bond displayed his wonderful wit and sense of humor after a rally for D.C. voting rights at the John A. Wilson Building in Washington, D.C. about six years ago. Shelton walked with Bond back to the metro station stopping to take pictures and talk to people along the way.
“As we were walking back to the metro from that rally on D.C. statehood, I remember Julian turned to me and said, ‘Hilary, when you get to be my age, you plan certain routes for everything that you do and I’ve planned this route as we go from the Wilson Building to the metro station with all of Washington, D.C.’s finest bathrooms every step along the way.”
Civil rights leaders also used social media to mourn the loss of Bond.
Jesse Jackson, Sr., tweeted:
“#JulianBond, a friend & fellow traveler who with courage, set the moral & academic tone of our generation. RIP”
Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, said in a statement: “The Urban League family deeply grieves the loss of Julian Bond, a true warrior for civil rights and social justice. He embodied integrity, passion and dignity, and was a role model for all Americans. He was a bridge between the civil rights pioneers of the 1960’s and the dynamic young activists of today, employing both a deep sense of history and a keen instinct for action.”
Bond fell ill while on vacation and died from complications related to vascular disease in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., the Washington Post reported. Bond is survived by his wife, Pamela Horowitz, his five children and eight grandchildren.
Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit chapter of the NAACP and a longtime NAACP board member, said: “They are not making them like Julian Bond anymore. Here’s a man that stayed in the struggle until he couldn’t stay in it anymore.”
August 13, 2015
By Michelle Faul
Associated Press
Boko Haram has a new commander willing to negotiate with Nigeria’s new government, Chad’s President Idriss Deby announced Wednesday, fueling speculation the extremist group’s previous commander has been killed.
Rumors of the death of Abubakar Shekau have grown since the leader has not appeared for months in videos broadcast by Nigeria’s homegrown Islamic militant group.
“There is somebody apparently called Mahamat Daoud who is said to have replaced Abubakar Shekau, and he wants to negotiate with the Nigerian government,” Deby said in comments broadcast by Chad state radio. He did not say where the information came from.
“I would not advise negotiating with a terrorist,” said Deby, though he himself led one failed attempt last year. Other attempts under Nigeria’s previous government also failed, partly because the group is believed fractured into several factions.
Nigeria’s new President Muhammadu Buhari has said his government is open to talks, but also would pursue the military option.
Deby said a five-nation regional army based in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, would be deployed in days and predicted it would destroy Boko Haram by year’s end. He said the group already has been “decapitated.”
Chadian troops earlier this year helped drive the insurgents out of northeastern Nigerian towns where They had declared an “Islamic caliphate” and prosecuted strict Shariah law. But hundreds have died in suicide bombings and village attacks in recent months. The 6-year-old Islamic uprising has killed 20,000 people and spilled across Nigeria’s borders.
On Tuesday, a bomb blast in a northeastern Nigerian village killed at least 24 people and Cameroonian troops repelled an invasion on a border town by hundreds of Boko Haram fighters who crossed the border.
Suicide bombings in Chad killed dozens in three attacks in June and July on the capital, N’Djamena.
August 13, 2015
By JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press
Six children who were fatally shot in their Houston home along with their mother and her husband were temporarily removed by Child Protective Services from the household in 2013 after allegations of domestic violence and a lack of supervision.
The children were placed in foster care in September 2013 when the agency filed a lawsuit to remove them from the home. They were returned about a month later after the suit was dismissed by a judge, Patrick Crimmins, a spokesman for Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, which includes CPS, said Tuesday.
Questions about the agency's dealings with the family have arisen since the six children, their mother, Valerie Jackson, and her husband were killed Saturday. Jackson's former domestic partner, David Conley, is charged with capital murder for their deaths, and the Harris County Sheriff's Office has said problems between Conley and Jackson might have led to the shootings.
Court records show Conley, 48, had a history of domestic violence against Jackson, something Child Protective Services noted in its 2013 lawsuit.
Crimmins said he couldn't comment on why Juvenile Court Judge Glenn Devlin dismissed the lawsuit. Natalie Yates, Devlin's court coordinator, said the judge can't comment on the lawsuit due to confidentiality issues. Donna Everson, an attorney who was appointed to represent the six children, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
According to CPS' lawsuit, the children told authorities they were often left alone. On at least two occasions, then-7-year-old Caleb left the home and wandered around the family's neighborhood unsupervised.
Another child, Nathaniel, told investigators "he gets whooped all the time."
Killed in the shooting on Saturday were: Jackson, 40; her husband, Dwayne Jackson; and her children, 13-year-old Nathaniel; 11-year-old Honesty; 10-year-old Dwayne; 9-year-old Caleb; 7-year-old Trinity; and 6-year-old Jonah. Authorities say Nathaniel was Conley's son from his relationship with Valerie Jackson, while the Jacksons were the parents of the other five children. All were shot in the head.
Conley's court appointed attorney, Joseph Scardino, didn't return a phone call seeking comment on the allegations Tuesday.
Court records show Conley had been charged at least twice with assaulting Valerie Jackson, most recently last month. They had recently ended their relationship.
Neighbors told reporters after the shooting that they had been concerned about the children.
"The little one, Jonah, he used to be on the street by himself with the other kids, cars driving by and everything and no adult supervision," said Carlos Sanchez, 40, who lived across the street from the family.
Crimmins said in an email that although the children were returned to the home, Conley and Valerie Jackson were ordered to participate in counseling and random drug testing. That part of the case was dismissed in March 2014 after they successfully completed all court-ordered services, Crimmins said.
The agency conducted periodic visits and interviews with the children until the case was closed on May 27, 2014, he said.
August 06, 2015
By Michelle Faul
Associated Press
Two U.S. congresswomen say Nigeria’s #BringBackOurGirls campaign must hold every single newly elected official responsible for the freedom of scores of schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram extremists.
They say the movement built up around “the Chibok girls” can become a pillar of accountability in the country’s budding democracy.
The campaign attracted millions around the world, including first lady Michelle Obama. Then-President Goodluck Jonathan reviled it. His administration initially denied there had been a mass kidnapping in the northeast town of Chibok on April 15, 2014, and even detained two campaign leaders.
In Abuja, the capital, visiting Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Frederica Wilson on Tuesday told campaigners to keep up the pressure with new President Muhammadu Buhari.
“You don’t give them a pass, from the president all the way down. Pressure! Pressure! Pressure!” urged Wilson, a Democrat from Florida.
Buhari, a former military dictator, won the March 29 election that Jonathan lost in part for his failure to adequately fight Boko Haram and his callousness over the kidnapped girls.
Nigerians “stood in line for hours; you voted in droves to elect a new government,” Wilson said.
In Washington, she and Jackson Lee wear something red — the campaign color — once a week to remind everyone the Chibok girls still are not free. Wilson sported a red Stetson in Nigeria.
Jackson Lee said the two have become champion tweeters on Capitol Hill, out-tweeting Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush and the White House with their demands to #BringBackOurGirls.
Some 276 students were kidnapped. Dozens escaped but 219 remain missing. They were last shown in a Boko Haram video claiming they had converted to Islam. Subsequent videos have said the girls have been married off to insurgents and are training to fight.
Activists pressing the government and military to rescue them have gathered every day at Unity Fountain in Abuja since April 30, 2014.
“The fight for the Chibok girls is the fight for the very soul of Nigeria,” campaigner Aisha Yesufu told a small crowd there on Tuesday.
The campaign is growing into a broader movement about general accountability, strengthening a fledgling democracy that eroded under Jonathan — Nigeria's third elected civilian president since military dictatorship ended in 1999.
Buhari met the campaigners in his first month in office. He has said he does not know where the girls are but will do everything possible to bring them home.
Last month, negotiator Fred Eno said Boko Haram is willing to trade the girls for detained insurgents.
Jackson Lee, a Democrat from Texas, said the United States can help Nigeria not just with military training but also in negotiating skills. She told a news conference earlier Tuesday of previous efforts with Boko Haram: “They came to the table twice and they almost had a deal. But because no one at the table had the technical skills to close the deal, the deal fell apart.”
At Unity Fountain, Jackson Lee and Wilson urged campaigners to look to the American civil rights movement for inspiration.
“Every single elected official is to be held responsible for those (Chibok) girls,” Wilson said.
Yesufu, the Nigerian campaigner, said much must be done, not just for the Chibok girls, but hundreds of kidnapped girls and women rescued this year, and hundreds of thousands of children driven from school by Boko Haram, whose name translates roughly as “Western education is forbidden.”
Yesufu blamed lack of education in the north for the creation of Boko Haram, whose six-year uprising has killed 20,000 people.
“If people are uneducated, if people are unemployed, when the terrorists come calling and they give them money, of course the youths are theirs to have,” she said.
Yesufu said that, once rescued, the Chibok girls must get the education that Boko Haram tried to deprive them of.
“They are going to be survivors. They are going to be the kind of women that we are going to say ‘Wow!’”