Julian Bond
1940 – 2015
Julian Bond believed that justice required both moral clarity and strategic action — and that economic inequity was a civil rights issue of the highest importance.
- Civil Rights Advocate
- Educator
- Economic Justice Champion
- Community Organizer
- Environmentalist
Julian Bond was one of the defining figures of the American civil rights movement — a leader, strategist, writer, and statesman whose work spanned more than five decades. He helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960, served in the Georgia legislature for twenty years, and chaired the NAACP from 1998 to 2010. Through it all, he maintained an unwavering conviction: that the work of justice was never finished, and that every generation had a responsibility to carry it forward.
For Julian Bond, economic inequity was not a side issue. It was a civil rights issue of the highest importance — one that could not be separated from the struggles for voting rights, housing, education, and dignity that defined the movement he helped lead. He understood that political freedom without economic access was incomplete, and that the financial system was one of the most powerful and least examined levers of racial inequality in America.
His Connection to CRL
Julian Bond was a founding board member of the Center for Responsible Lending in 2002 — the parent organization of JBI. His belief that economic inequity was a civil rights issue made CRL's mission personal to him. JBI was created to honor and extend his conviction that building an equitable financial system is one of the defining civil rights challenges of our time.
Who He Was
Ordinary men and women have the common sense and ability to control their lives, given the knowledge and the means.
- Co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
Helped establish one of the most consequential organizations of the civil rights movement at age 20. - Elected to the Georgia House of Representatives
Became one of the first Black Americans elected to the Georgia legislature, serving twenty years in both the House and Senate. - First Black American nominated for Vice President at a major party convention
At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago — he withdrew his name due to age requirements. - Elected Chairman of the NAACP
Chaired the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization until 2010. - Founding board member, Center for Responsible Lending
Julian Bond's commitment to economic justice led directly to his involvement in founding CRL — the parent organization of JBI. - Passed away, August 15, 2015
Julian Bond served on the CRL board until his death. His legacy of connecting civil rights and economic justice is the foundation on which JBI was built.
A Life in the Movement
His presence is no longer with us, but his voice will remain echoed through the work we and others do in the civil rights movement.