Bond Addresses Racial Injustice

Taking a strong stand on racial politics and fair representation in America, Julian Bond, chair of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), addressed a crowd of several hundred people at the Institute of Politics' conference on minority representation Friday.

"America's original sin is slavery", Bond told the crowd. "And in this country, for better or worse, race is the trump card for everything".

Bond's presentation in the ARCO Forum, titled "The 1965 Voting Rights Act: A Beneficiary's Perspective", was part of the IOP's Fairness in Minority Representation Conference, which took place on Friday and Saturday.

Accordingly, Bond's speech focused on the idea of "fairness" in controversial topics like minority voting districts, affirmative action and representation.

Bond began with the premise that "fairness" has not been achieved in society.

"It would be foolish to assume that three decades since the Civil Rights movement have lifted white supremacy from any aspect of American life", Bond said.

With that belief, Bond reached back to 1965, when, as an activist with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), he first began to struggle for "the just spoils of a virtuous and victorious war [the Civil Rights movement]", majority black voting districts and affirmative action.

As a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, Bond struggled to get black voting districts recognized by Congress.

Although many critics have called black voting districts racial gerrymandering, Bond contended that they are necessary for fair representation.

"Before majority black districts were created, no state in the South had elected a black candidate in the 20th century", Bond said.

Now, as NAACP chair, Bond said he would continue to fight for fair representation, as well as other civil rights issues.

"We [the NAACP] aren't going to do anything new. We're just going to do the old things better", Bond said. "We've been fighting white supremacy since 1909....We're revitalized and we're going to be in your face".

Bond also spoke of starting an NAACP chapter on the Harvard campus, a project that has been under serious consideration by both the NAACP and the Harvard black community this year.

He is currently meeting with students to get the chapter started.

Audience members said they were impressed by Bond's speech.

"I think it was one of the top IOP events I've ever been to," said Black Students Association (BSA) Senior Representative Dana B. Bennett '99. "A lot of what he said spoke directly to what the BSA is trying to accomplish this year".

Others said they were pleased to hear Bond speak frankly about tough issues.

"I appreciate a speaker who is honest about how he feels, no matter how other people may criticize what he says", said Troy G. Clair, a high school senior visiting from Brooklyn.

Dahni-El Giles '99 liked the historical perspective of Bond's speech. "It's so important that everyone understand the importance of voting rights", Giles said. "He really enlightened a lot of people".