School of Law Speaker Series: Julian Bond

September 18, 2008

Time: 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Location: Langsdale Library Auditorium

Join the University of Baltimore School of Law in welcoming Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP, to campus. Bond brings a lifetime of experience as an activist, author, educator and politician with him. As a founding member of both the Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee and the Southern Poverty Law Center, he is uniquely qualified to speak about the history and the future of the American civil rights movement. His remarks will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

So… this is where I am.  It’s 5:01 p.m. (OMG LATE) and I’m sitting right in front of the podium where Mr. Bond is scheduled to speak.  My friends (other Colored People who Bond is Nationally Advancing through the Association) are sitting around me and we’re waiting for the event to start.  Seeing as I have a laptop in my lap right now, I will not likely engage in any standing ovations.  

I’ve never really liveblogged before.  I will fight my instinct to write everything word for word.  And I guess I publish this and update like a madwoman?  Yes?  No?  Well, let’s roll this out anyway.

This is kinda funny; the front row is filled with brown faces.  It’s ripe for a “whatchoo talkin’ ’bout, Julian Bond” moment.  Or we can break out this look from the famous macro:

(I doubt my friends will actually do this with me since they want jobs after they graduate.)

Dean is giving the introduction now of the person introducing Mr. Bond — Professor Michael Meyerson.  (Really cool professor.)  Questions will be asked after the speech.  

Professor Meyerson is joking about giving a brief biography — starting with his appearances on The Colbert Report and SNL.  Describing Bond as a renaissance man and some of his poetry.  Talking about B leading sit-ins & organizing them… describing how Bond doesn’t center himself in the stories about his work in the Civil Rights Movement.  Ran for office in state of Georgia and won in 1965 — but they refused to seat him because he didn’t endorse Vietnam War.  Went to the S.C. and they demanded they give him the seat and denial of the seat violated his First Amendment rights, 9-zip.  Serving for almost a decade as chair of NAACP — talking about the ties between civil and human rights — Bond has “become a voice for fighting all forms of injustice.”  

Bond has taken the podium!

He just joked about SNL not being funny anymore.  He’s going to recite one of his poems for us, too.  I remember the poem he just recited — reading it in high school:

Look at that girl, shakin’ that thing,

We can’t all be Martin Luther King.

He’s describing his first experience in front of a judge after being arrested for trying to get service at the City Hall cafeteria.  Lawyer encouraged him to do the proper plea (lest he lose his shit and no he didn’t say that I’m paraphrasing).

NAACP described as legal advocates and community organizers.  Great response from the crowd.

“Martin Luther King was a community organizer.  Jesus was a community organizer.  Pontius Pilate was a governor.” — ha!

Describing his first attempt to take office in the Georgia state legislature… SNCC was the first organization to link Vietnam with injustice to black people — “colored people.”

Three elections after the remainder of the legislature kept trying to shut him out. During the third — he filed suit.  He’s now describing the inbreeding of the CRM legal wing.  His lawyers apparently had a flair for calling Bond a fool when he was facing adjudication, heh.

24% of delegates at DNC were black; 1.5% of delegates at RNC were black.  GOP responsible for scheme after scheme of disenfranchisement through the election.  Talked about attempts to remove NAACP’s tax-exempt status for criticism of Bush.

Speaking about change and the desire for it after Bush’s failed “Rovian” divide and conquer tactics.  Now describing Humphrey’s fight on the floor of the DNC for change in civil rights platform.  

Quoted Friedman — “We are a country in debt and decline.” 

Being very critical of Bush administration — “made up in chutzpah what they lacked in wisdom.”

Describing the horrific stats around Iraq and now going into corrupt abuses of power such as CoIntelPro inhibiting the civil rights movements.  Talking about wiretapping, habeas corpus suspension, torture instances, and the four cases before S.C. that stopped the corruption of the government & Constitution.

“Dismantled, privatized, and politicized” — Bush government’s legacy.

Talking about the honor program of hiring in the Justice Department and the heavy politicization of vetting candidates.

Mentioned that 9/10 white voters would be comfortable w/ a black president because of the “success” of the Civil Rights Movement. 

Speaking to the diversity of electoral field — age, gender, race, religion.

“Lawyers can be social engineers or parasites on society” — miss who he quoted for that one. [Edit: Charles Hamilton Houston is known for this quote.]

More NAACP history — Houston, 1934, chief counsel and new course of standing up for lawyers and lawyers standing up for the minority in society.  NAACP changed the way that we think of public interest law with each legal victory it achieved.

Robin Hood effect of social justice — take power and give it to those who need it.

Commented on the legal perception divide and surveyed lawyers on racial bias — most black lawyers think the system is biased and white lawyers didn’t see it so much.  Paralleled with the digital divide.

Jena 6 case mentioned — talking about how black and Hispanic youth are more likely to be arrested, incarcerated, and given harsher terms.  Black youth 48x more likely to be incarcerated in juvenile prisons for drug offenses; 9x more likely to be incarcerated overall compared to whites.

He finally called “Hispanics” Latinos, haha.  Whites were 2x likely than blacks to view court proceedings as “always or usually fair.”  

Error rates in capital convictions rise proportionate to the racial makeup of the state and the class realities — specifically welfare — of the state.

Describing the ongoing racial disparities & linking it with Katrina.  Mentions that “race trumps class” and the inevitable connection between race and class.  1/2 of blacks have descended into poverty from the middle class in the past 40 years compared to 19% of whites — evidence of “downward mobility.”

55% of subprime lending to blacks; 17% to whites.  Evidence that the lending was discriminatory and affects entire families and communities.

Mentioned the 62,000 foreclosures — 60% black homeowners and the Republican plan to disenfranchise them in MI.

Talking about WI and McCain’s plan to lengthen lines there…artificially.

National Day of Action in July to make lenders accountable for poor lending practices.  

“Legislative changes alone cannot create a bias-free America.”

Talking about slavery and its ongoing legacy — its root in white supremacy and how all whites — even poor whites — benefited from the social and psychological advantage of having people beneath them.  (Amen.) 

“Only 40 years or so” — speaking about the inroads made by CRM not too long ago.

Speaking about pride in Obama and the sexism toward Michelle Obama — the “baby mama” drama and the Georgia legislator who called the Obamas “uppity.”

Bringing up the importance of education to uplift historically — through the example of his educated father and his contribution to the Brown v. Board brief when it was argued.

“Greater efforts and grander victories” — the promise made by a generation.  

Starting Q & A:

1. about A-As and the vote, during the DNC campaign, speaking about polarization “1st woman or 1st A-A?” and Steinem’s idiocy — she’s speaking about the barriers blacks faced before they could ACTUALLY vote (white woman epiphany!) — her question — has not happened yet — Um? He’s speaking about the conflicts of gender equality and racial equality and the merging of the same.  Remarking about Frederick Douglass speaking at Seneca Falls.  Talking about his remarks about how WHITE women (though he didn’t say that) have not faced the lynching threats and beatings that black men had so they could not exercise the same claim to enfranchisement.  ”No profit to challenging victimization stories.”  Admits he’s treading a fine line talking about politics but holding out hope.
2. Question about disenfranchisement on November 4th — since 1961 the Republican Party has hampered attempts for black people to vote.  Restraining order since the 60s on the Republican Party from polling places for misrepresenting political affiliations, etc.  Misleading people about when to vote, armed policemen at polling places, etc.  ”The guilty flee when no one pursue them.” (Proverbs — good shit) NAACP and many other organizations will work to ensure voting procedures are as fair as possible.  
3. Follow-up question — priority of NAACP to take action during the election, what will the action be?  Taskforce?  What will minimize the effects of disenfranchisement: part of a larger coalition of organizations from the CRC developing an election protection coalition; collectively in the coalition dispatching lawyers to polling places and areas where it will be prevalent; call-in lines of voter manipulation; www.naacp.org will give more information and join, receive a Crisis mag delivered by the federal government to your home.  lol
4. impeachment proceedings — only Kucinich has gone forward — are you shocked: Bond is not shocked more haven’t joined him.  Optimism about the new election and trying to face down the task of choosing replacement for Bush and trying to refocus energies in other ways.
5. share some advice for new lawyers or law students about balancing loans and fighting for justice!: asked his wife to stand and describing her creds.  I’m sure people are like “she’s white oooOOOoooooOOOh” but whatevs.  She’s hardcore according to Mr. Bond on the race and gender fight.  Saying that question should be directed to his wife.  Worked hard until she could pay it off and she didn’t have such a huge amount she owed.
6. speak to NAACP’s position on felony disenfranchisement laws that disproportionately affect POC: MD has taken positive steps to restoring voting rights to ex-cons and other rights.  NAACP supports the elimination on voting restraints on ex-cons.  MI is doing more as well.  Keep leaning on state legislatures.
7. comment about loan forgiveness for working in gov’t/public interest starting this year
8. foreclosure mills – law firms speeding up the process: NAACP is not doing anything about this phenomenon — first they heard of it.