In keeping with the College of Charleston’s commitment to diversity on its campus, and in celebration of Black History Month, the Office of Institutional Diversity (OID) is hosting Julian Bond, former national chairman of the Board of the NAACP as the keynote speaker for its Signature Speaker Series. Bond will speak on Friday, February 7, 2014, at 6:00 p.m., in Physicians Memorial Auditorium, located on the College of Charleston’s main campus (72 George St.). The event is free and open to the public. Please join us for an engaging and inspiring evening with Mr. Bond as he presents “The Road to Freedom, From Alabama to Obama”.
Beginning with his pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement, Julian Bond – an expert on diversity in the law – has always been on the cutting edge of social change and leadership. Legendary as the first black U.S. Vice Presidential nominee and former national chairman of the NAACP, Bond continues to deliver a powerful message of equality, freedom, and justice with a renewed sense of relevance.
[Related: See some of Bond’s famous quotes.]
According to Dr. Bello-Ogunu, Sr., Associate Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, “The oral and written history of the struggles of Blacks in America will be incomplete without the immeasurable contributions of Mr. Julian Bond to social justice in America. He is one of the most influential social justice leaders of our time, and to have him as the keynote speaker for the College of Charleston’s 2014 Black History Month Celebrations is a gift beyond measure.”
[Related: See a listing of the College of Charleston’s diversity efforts.]
Bond has been at the forefront of social change since 1960. Founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, he organized voting drives and sit-ins. An elected member of the Georgia House of Representatives, Bond was denied his seat by legislators until the intervention of the United States Supreme Court. He ultimately served four terms in the House and six terms in the Senate. Co-chairman of an insurgent delegation to the 1968 Democratic Convention, he became the first African-American to be nominated for Vice President of the United States.
The widely-published author of many books of poetry, Bond is also author of A Time to Speak, A Time to Act- a collection of his essays, as well as Black Candidates Southern Campaign Experiences. Bond has served as commentator on America’s Black Forum, the oldest black-owned show in television syndication and his poetry and articles have appeared in numerous publications. He has narrated numerous documentaries, including the Academy Award-winning film, A Time for Justice and the prize-winning and critically acclaimed series Eyes on the Prize. Mr. Bond has been named one of America’s top 200 leaders by Time Magazine and in 2008, he was named a “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress.
OID’s Signature Speaker Series was created to promote community dialogue on diversity and social justice issues through presentations, workshops and seminars by local, regional and national speakers, with the ultimate goal of advancing diversity, access, equity and inclusion at the College of Charleston.
For more information on Black History Month events and other OID programs, please visit www.cofc.edu or our website at: www.diversity.cofc.edu.
