- Feb 9, 2001
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The Southern Poverty Law Center said in a statement on Sunday morning its co-founder, civil rights activist Julian Bond, died Saturday night in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., after a brief illness. He was 75.
“Not only has the country lost a hero today, we’ve lost a great friend,” SPLC co-founder Morris Dees wrote.
Bond was known for his charismatic and effective leadership in championing for civil rights in the U.S. and was admired among his friends.
President Obama said in a statement on Sunday, “Julian Bond was a hero and, I’m privileged to say, a friend. Justice and equality was the mission that spanned his life — from his leadership of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, to his founding role with the Southern Poverty Law Center, to his pioneering service in the Georgia legislature and his steady hand at the helm of the NAACP.”
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