For Immediate Release

Press Release
August 2015
Contact: Joseph Yanis 718-596-0100

**Press Release**
Tuesday, August 18th, 2015
Assemblyman Walter T. Mosleys statement on the passing of Julian Bond
This past Sunday the world lost one of the guiding lights in the civil rights movement. A man
whose principles helped shape a movement as it struggled through the darkest hours in a time of
racial segregation and prejudice. Julian Bond will always be remembered for his charismatic
leadership and his founding of the Students for Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Julian Bonds gradually moved from the militancy of the student group to the N.A.A.C.P where
he further displayed his dynamic personality and leadership ability. Along the way, Mr. Bond
was a writer, poet, television commentator, lecturer and college teacher, and persistent opponent
of the stubborn remnants of white supremacy.
He was a statesman as well, serving in the Georgia House of Representatives for 1965 to 1986 as
a champion of the working class poor minority communities. As a lawmaker, he sponsored bills
to establish a sickle cell anemia testing program and to provide low-interest home loans to lowincome Georgians. Also, Mr. Bond was a co-founder, of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a
legal advocacy organization in Montgomery, Alabama.
Let us honor the legacy of Julian Bond by continuing his fight for equality. Because of his work,
today my colleagues and I in the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian
Legislative Caucus are able to pick up the banner of social justice and carry it into the 21st
century.

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