Narrative Assignment †Julian Bond Speech -- Civil Rights Event

Narrative Assignment – Julian Bond Speech When I entered the hall where the famous civil rights leader was going to speak, the crowd filing in reminded me more of a church congregation than of a university campus audience. The general mood had an air of formality about it and many people were dressed up for the occasion. Conversations were going on around me but in quiet, almost respectful tones as everyone located their seats. The surroundings at Smith Memorial Hall helped to set this formal mood, too, because the hall could be mistaken for a church with organ pipes in the background and flower arrangements set up on the podium. Unfortunately, any expectations that I had about Julian Bond giving a high-powered, energetic speech about the exciting days of the civil rights movement were fading fast even before the event got started, and I braced myself for a boring Friday night. While the University Chancellor gave the introduction to Julian Bond on the 50-year anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education court decision, my interest in this civil rights figure gradually began to grow. Bond’s has a long list of accomplishments and has devoted his entire life to the fight for justice and equality in America. The audience, myself included, had to be impressed by his resume, because it was one that very few of us could ever even dream of achieving. Bond was a founding member of the NAACP, a close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, and an active participant in many of the major events of the civil rights struggle that changed the course of U.S. history. He also served for 20 years in the Georgia Legislature and is now a professor of history at the University of Virginia. With this outstanding l... ...n our resources and has actually made our country less safe. He said that he admires Al Sharpton greatly, even though as chairman of the NAACP, he can’t endorse any particular candidate for President. In one of his final responses, Bond said that he has a great deal of hope for the younger generation and encouraged them to follow the example of his generation because they learned how not to afraid to fight the rich and powerful forces in America. Bond’s speech exceeded all of my expectations and I came away with a great deal of admiration and respect for his opinions, many that I personally share with him. It is one thing to learn about the momentous achievements of the civil rights movement in class, and a whole different thing to hear it coming from one of the movement’s original leaders. The evening spent with Julian Bond was one that I was very glad I attended.