Civil rights leader Bond visits with law students

NOV. 20, 2009 - National leader Julian Bond visited with students today at the Charleston School of Law to discuss his experiences in the civil rights movement and to encourage law students to do public service when they are attorneys.

NAACP Chair Julian Bond spoke Nov. 20 to students at the law school.  (Photo by Celeste Palmer)

"It is an incredible honor to have a leader of Julian Bond's stature to visit and talk with our students," said Dean Andy Abrams.  "Not only will he be able to witness the great outreach work that our students do to give back to our community, but they'll be inspired by his years of public service."

The Friday meeting with Bond, the current chair of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was open to students from area schools and colleges, but not to the general public due to space limitations.

"Having Mr. Bond speak to the students gives them the opportunity to converse with a person who has been in the middle of the civil rights movement - a movement that shaped this country," said Debra Gammons, a visiting professor and acting director of diversity initiatives at the school. 

"Law students one day will be practicing attorneys who fight for the rights of their clients," she said.  "Hearing Mr. Bond share his experiences will emphasize to students the importance of equality, fairness and of always seeking to make this country better for all Americans." 

A key figure in the civil rights movement, Bond was one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960 through which he organized sit-ins and voter registration drives.  A 20-year veteran of the Georgia General Assembly, he served as the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center.  Bond is a distinguished professor in residence at American University in Washington, D.C., and professor of history at the University of Virginia.

• CONTACT: Andy Brack at 843.670.3996; Debra Gammons at 843.377.2429