The death of legendary civil rights leader Julian Bond on August 15th left a community bereft, yet grateful for a life well-lived and legacy that will inspire and inform generations of activists to come.
Author and poet Alice Walker posted a fitting tribute to Bond on her website, remembering the young, passionate activist he was in college and the icon he would become.
It’s definitely worth the read:
Julian Bond 1940-2015
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.
Read the rest of Walker’s powerful and beautiful tribute at AliceWalkersGarden.com.
article via newsone.com
Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.