 |
| Julian Bond (1940-2105) |
John E. Milholland had an affair with Mary Ovington, a fellow member of the NAACP board. It is referenced twice in the new play by Clare Coss, Dr. Du Bois and Mrs. Ovington.
In the long NY Times obituary of Julian Bond, his great-grandmother is described as a "slave mistress". The Times' Public Editor reports that several people have objected to the phrase, which the Times has used before.
Even though Bond himself has described his ancestor as a "mistress", to those who object to it the word connotes consensuality that is lacking in a master-slave relationship. The Times will seek to avoid the word in future in describing such a relationship.
Bond was born Horace Julian Bond. His father was Horace Mann Bond, who became president of Lincoln College. His mother was a librarian. Julian Bond was at Morehouse College when he became one of the leaders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Later, he became a founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center and was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives (four terms) and Georgia State Senate (six terms), a total of 20 years.
Julian Bond 1940-2015
by Alice Walker (The Color Purple)
Julian / The first time I sang / We Shall Overcome
Was in a circle / On the lawn of Trevor Arnett Library / At Atlanta University
And by chance / I was holding / Your hand.
We were all so young, / Julian,
And so hopeful / In our solidarity.
I stumbled over some of the words / In the new to me / Song
But you sang solemnly, / Correctly, / Devoutly,
Believing every word
You sang / With your whole / Handsome / Heart.
A friend writes / That you will be buried
At sea / And I nod
Because that is how it felt / Those years so long ago;
That we were so young, / Vulnerable,
Swimming against / An awesome tide of hatred
And despair / Definitely / At sea.
But we persevered / As so many waves
Mountains of tears / Came roaring towards, and over, us.
Martin, Jack, Bobby, / Fannie Lou
Who never said what else / They did to her / After they beat her
Body into a leathery / Stiffness / After arresting her in / That small town jail.
Julian, / The guns, / The drugs, / The miseducation,
Also aimed at all we loved.
And us somehow / You somehow / Managing to keep / Standing.
You were so young / In those days
Of tight jeans / And a young wife / “the other Alice” / I thought of her.
She who would save / Your life / When we thought you’d / Lost it.
They are saying many things / About you now
So much praise / That is well earned.
And yet, / I wonder if they can / Imagine / The young man you were
Standing in / That Circle of Life / So long ago / Holding hands
With those as fragile, / As determined, / As pure as you / Waiting for the future
We would make / With just our circle / And our song.
by Alice Walker (The Color Purple)
Julian / The first time I sang / We Shall Overcome
Was in a circle / On the lawn of Trevor Arnett Library / At Atlanta University
And by chance / I was holding / Your hand.
We were all so young, / Julian,
And so hopeful / In our solidarity.
I stumbled over some of the words / In the new to me / Song
But you sang solemnly, / Correctly, / Devoutly,
Believing every word
You sang / With your whole / Handsome / Heart.
A friend writes / That you will be buried
At sea / And I nod
Because that is how it felt / Those years so long ago;
That we were so young, / Vulnerable,
Swimming against / An awesome tide of hatred
And despair / Definitely / At sea.
But we persevered / As so many waves
Mountains of tears / Came roaring towards, and over, us.
Martin, Jack, Bobby, / Fannie Lou
Who never said what else / They did to her / After they beat her
Body into a leathery / Stiffness / After arresting her in / That small town jail.
Julian, / The guns, / The drugs, / The miseducation,
Also aimed at all we loved.
And us somehow / You somehow / Managing to keep / Standing.
You were so young / In those days
Of tight jeans / And a young wife / “the other Alice” / I thought of her.
She who would save / Your life / When we thought you’d / Lost it.
They are saying many things / About you now
So much praise / That is well earned.
And yet, / I wonder if they can / Imagine / The young man you were
Standing in / That Circle of Life / So long ago / Holding hands
With those as fragile, / As determined, / As pure as you / Waiting for the future
We would make / With just our circle / And our song.
© 2015 Alice Walker
http://alicewalkersgarden.com/2015/08/julian-bond-1940-2015/
http://alicewalkersgarden.com/2015/08/julian-bond-1940-2015/
No comments:
Post a Comment