In 1963, Bevel was compelled to join the desegregation struggle being waged by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth in Birmingham, Alabama. James Bevel was born on October 19, 1936 and died on December 19, 2008. While in the Jackson jail, Bevel and Bernard Lafayette initiated the Mississippi Voting Rights Movement. They would have two children. 'You dont like to work on anything that isnt your own idea,' King said, 'Bevel, I think you owe me one.'"[22]. [12] He was one of 17 children and grew up in rural LeFlore County of the Mississippi Delta and in Cleveland, Ohio. He was educated at segregated local schools in both Mississippi and Cleveland. And you can listen to it for, you know, over and over again and it won't make sense. I mean, I remember being afraid of being taken from my home, you know that that was an option that I could be leaved and I would have to stay at a foster home, and I had these horrible images that foster homes would be worse. [32] He engaged in LaRouche seminars on issues including "Is the Anti Defamation League the new KKK? He had stints in the Navy and graduated in 1961 from Nashville's American Baptist Theological Seminary. James Bevel: Well, it had a reputation equal to the Mississippi Birmingham had a reputation equal to the Mississippi Delta in terms of its brutalization of people. I am equally as devastated and disgusted by his pedophilia," Orrin said. King wanted to fill the jails with protesters, but it was becoming more difficult to find adults to march. [20] Bevel was influential in gaining King's support for the anti-war movement,[13] and with King's agreeing to participate as a speaker Bevel agreed to lead the antiwar effort. Ms. MILLS: I feel almost as if it's something I had to do. Answer to: When did James Bevel die? Besides being a leader in the Children's Crusade in which police turned fire hoses and dogs on child protesters, Bevel was also an organizer at other civil rights movement events, including the 1965 march at Selma, Ala. Credited by Martin Luther King with initiating the Children's Crusade during the Birmingham Campaign of 1963, James Bevel emerged as a civil rights leader from the ranks of the Nashville, Tennessee, student movement. [39] Bevel's attorney appealed the denial of the abatement motion to the Supreme Court of Virginia. Wife Susan Jameson & Adopted Son Details. She said Bevel's recent conviction does not detract from his work in the civil rights movement. The Rev. I think he's more like a spoiled child in which he has been doing and being the way he is for so long that he gets away with it. Ms. MILLS: Well, I don't understand it. So, I grew up with a fear of society and of people, and a great mistrust for the system and a great trust in my father. Copyright 2008 NPR. All rights reserved (About Us). James Bevel Birthday and Date of Death. And we have to find a way, because they exist. She was prominently involved with integrating lunch counters through sit-ins, the Freedom Riders, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating . In 1963, as the Alabama project director for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization led by Dr. King, Mr. Bevel persuaded Dr. King to allow children to participate in antisegregation demonstrations, in which they would almost surely face arrest. Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305. On August 28, 1963, SCLC participated in what became known as the March on Washington, an event organized by labor leader A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, who had planned an earlier 1941 March. And then, so what are the options for children? MARTIN: Sounds like you would have made a hell of an organizer? Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place. James Bevel Civil Disobedience 746 Words | 3 Pages. He also worked on a cotton plantation and in a steel mill. When Bevel died in December 2008, he had served a few months of a 15-year sentence. Almost 1,000 students were arrested on the first day. A top lieutenant to Martin Luther King Jr. has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for incest. As a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and then as its Director of Direct Action and Nonviolent Education, Bevel initiated, strategized, and developed SCLC's three major successes of the era: the 1963 Birmingham Children's . We will have a link to it on our website. He was recently released on bond while appealing a 15-year prison sentence. In 1968, Mr. Bevel was at the Memphis motel where Dr. King was assassinated, and in a bizarre post-mortem, he claimed that the man who was arrested for (and later convicted of) the shooting, James Earl Ray, was not the killer and that he had evidence which he declined to reveal that Mr. Ray was innocent. Because the executor of Bevel's estate had not sought to prosecute the appeal, the Court affirmed the dismissal of his appeal as moot. James D Bevel's bio. 1997 at 38 years old. How did James bevel die? This button displays the currently selected search type. During this period Bevel joined with fellow seminarian John Lewis, Diane Nash from Fisk University, and Vanderbilts James Lawson in the Nashville movement to initiate a local sit-in campaign in early February 1960. MARTIN: I mean you were a very young girl when the abuse started. Screenshots are considered by the King Estate a violation of this notice. Updated: October 8, 2011 . In March 1965, Mr. Bevel, a fiery orator, spoke at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Selma, Ala., the starting point of a symbolic march to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where demonstrators had been beaten two days earlier a day remembered as Bloody Sunday in a first attempt to march to Montgomery to protest discriminatory voting practices. Cypress Hall D, 466 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA 94305-4146 From previous discussions with King, and from work of American Friends Service Committee activist Bill Moyer, Bevel organized, and directed the Chicago open housing movement. Ms. MILLS: Perhaps. Ella Baker, a Civil Rights activist and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) official, invited some of those young Black activists (including Diane Nash, Marion Barry, John Lewis, and James Bevel) to a meeting at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina in . [13], Actor and rapper Common portrays Bevel in the 2014 film Selma.[42]. Answer to: How did James Bevel die? Bevel would not reveal the evidence, and Ray was convicted of the crime. James Bevel was one of the key strategists of the civil rights movement. Mr. Bevel was Mr. LaRouches running mate in 1992, a time when Mr. LaRouche was serving time for fraud and tax evasion. While in the Seminary, Bevel joined the Nashville chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), then led by the Reverend James Lawson. In 1960, Bevel and other black students trained by Lawson, including John Lewis, Dianne Nash, Marion Barry, and Bernard Lafayette, organized sit-ins against segregated lunch counters. He was a member of the Nashville Student Movement in 1961, and rode the first bus of Freedom Riders into Jackson on May 24. James Bevel was a leader of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. In case of Aaralyn Mills, it was all three. After high school he served in the U.S. Navy for a time and pursued a career as a singer. Bevel also was active in the anti-war movement and greatly influenced King, who Bevel encouraged to confront the Vietnam War more directly. But he was also a child predator, who exploited the trust of his family by molesting his daughter Aaralyn Mills. Tina Howard Bevel Expand search. He was 72. Where it's flat and immense. On February 16, 1965, Jimmie Lee Jackson, his mother, and grandfather took part in a nighttime march led by C. T. Vivian to protest the related jailing of activist James Orange in Marion, Alabama. While working on SNCC's commitment to desegregate theaters, Bevel successfully directed the 1961 Nashville Open Theater Movement. James Bevel would have been 72 years old at the time of death or 78 years old today. During the trial, Bevel's daughter testified that she was repeatedly molested by Bevel beginning when she was just 6 years old, culminating in sexual intercourse in 1993 or 1994 that formed the basis of the incest charge. Credited by Martin Luther King with initiating the Childrens Crusade during the Birmingham Campaign of 1963, James Bevel emerged as a civil rights leader from the ranks of the Nashville, Tennessee, student movement. Both Bolam and his entertainer companion, Susan Jameson, reside in the West Sussex town of Wisborough Green, as well as in the London neighbourhood of Chiswick. Will YouTube dim the fire of preachers to the powerful. Housing in the area was segregated in a de facto way, enforced by covenants and real estate practices. MARTIN: Your father's name is one that appears in many, many history books. No one wants the government in their home. And as if it was a conspiracy against him. James was 72 years old at the time of death. "[33] When Bevel introduced LaRouche at a convention of the 1996 National African American Leadership Summit, both men were booed off the stage. And we'll decide what to do as a family. And we really wanted our father based on who he is and his own understanding to take that step to look at himself, to begin to if not challenge other men first by challenging himself. He was buried in Eutaw, Alabama. Springfield, Virginia, USA; Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. In 1992, he was vice presidential running mate to political extremist Lyndon LaRouche, who at the time was in a federal prison for a tax conviction. On May 2, 1963, children marched from the 16th Street Baptist Church, and 600 were arrested on that first day of demonstrations. James Luther Bevel, (born Oct. 19, 1936, Itta Bena, Miss., U.S.died Dec. 19, 2008, Springfield, Va.), American minister and political activist who played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement in the early 1960s. The Likely Lads, as well as the television . Ms. MILLS: Well, it was in part my own experience when I left home at 16, and I went to stay with the Bruderhof, which is a Christian community similar to the Amish in Pennsylvania. At that meeting, which had been suggested by James Lawson, Bevel and King agreed to work together on an equal basis, with neither having veto power over the other, on projects under the auspices of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). "Both of those feelings reside in the same soul, in the same space of my heart.". While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. But this was the meeting in which we called other members of the community, Bernard Layfette and Will Sanders and as well as relatives. MARTIN: I think it's fair to say that you, your other siblings went through a very great deal. He was 72. P: (650) 723-2092 | F: (650) 723-2093 | kinginstitute@stanford.edu| Campus Map. Particularly by somebody who portrays himself as a freedom fighter, as a person who's fighting for human dignity. Springfield, Virginia, USA. Movies. [13], Feeling an inner call to become a minister, he attended the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee from 1957 to 1961 and became a Baptist preacher. How did James Bevel contribute to the Civil Rights Movement? Please contact Intellectual Properties Management (IPM), the exclusive licensor of the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. atlicensing@i-p-m.comor 404 526-8968. They, Nash, and others stayed in Mississippi to work on grassroots organizing. The Rev. After buses and riders were severely attacked, including a firebombing of a bus and beatings with police complicity in Birmingham, Alabama, CORE suspended the rides. [19] He worked to create tenant unions and build grassroots action to "end" slums. You had moved on with your life, but there was another young girl, another child he had had through a subsequent marriage. That was very hard for me. He is known for 4 Little Girls (1997), Eyes on the Prize (1987) and King in Chicago (2008). Although Bevel initially intended to pursue a recording career, he felt called to Christian ministry. [13] They were under an injunction by the state, so stayed within the city limits. He reminded SCLC's executive board and staff that evening that King had left "marching orders" that, if anything should happen to him, he intended for Abernathy to take his place as SCLC's Chairman. And the suns from the West. "We know that the defendant is dying," said Prosecutor Gigi Lawless. Where was James Luther Bevel born and raised? At the sentencing hearing, the victims said they were hoping that Bevel would apologize for his actions and seek forgiveness and reconciliation. You still found the strength to get together to try to rescue this younger sibling who was still in harm's way, according to what you had experienced. Another daughter, Sherilynn Bevel, confirmed the death, The Washington Post reported. And she always told me, no he doesn't do that to me, I have a wonderful relationship with my dad. After a stint in the services, Bevel was called to the ministry and enrolled in the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee. The demonstrations, early that year, overwhelmed the city, and the news coverage, complete with televised images of black children being arrested or soaked and bowled over by law enforcement officers wielding powerful fire hoses, helped rally much of the American public to the side of the civil rights movement. After the resurrection, however, he is one of the leading figures in the church. He worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bevel, and was the Director of Direct Action, as well as the Director of Nonviolent Education of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Bevel died Friday in Vir People Photos Purpose. And I am wondering how it is that you and your siblings, you particularly, were able to do it. On Saturday, she told The Associated Press she's still processing her "very complicated" feelings about his death. The chain of events and police violence that was captured on national television ultimately culminated in the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He suggested a march from Selma to . The Institute cannot give permission to use or reproduce any of the writings, statements, or images of Martin Luther King, Jr. Bevel pleaded not guilty to the one count charged and maintained his innocence. He and the others were arrested after they arrived in Jackson, Mississippi and tried to desegregate the waiting rooms in the bus terminal. [13] Six weeks later he died of cancer, at the age of 72, in Springfield, Virginia. Ms. MILLS: I feel, I feel at peace with this whole process in terms of I'm happy that we stood on something and we followed it through. At the turn of the 20th century, southern state legislatures had passed new constitutions and laws that effectively disenfranchised most blacks. Civil Rights Activist. 2001 at 73 years of age. He suggested a march from Selma to Montgomery, the capital, to protest Jackson's death and press Governor George Wallace to support voting rights for African Americans. He initiated the 1967 March on the United Nations as part of the anti-war movement. The Rev. In 1969, Bevel left SCLC and created the Making of a Man Clinic in 1970. He died on December 19, 2008 in Springfield, Virginia, USA. They invited King and other SCLC leaders to Selma to develop larger protests and actions, and work alongside Bevel's and Nash's Alabama Project. Last week, Joanna Connors a reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer told us about how 20 years later being raped still made her feel powerless and ashamed. MARTIN: How do you understand this as this kind of culture of acceptance of abuse of children? As a girl she was repeated molested by her father the Reverend James Bevel, one of the most brilliant and daring strategists of the civil rights movement, an Icon. Court testimony revealed that accusation had stemmed from a family reunion during which several family members recalled having been molested by Mr. Bevel. The Rev. Where did James Bevel die? Bevel was born on October 19, 1936 in Itta Bena, Mississippi. It's barbaric, but hey, it's home. Freedom's Ring: King's "I Have a Dream" Speech, King holds press conference on opening day of Youth Leadership Conference at Shaw University, King addresses Youth Leadership Conference in Raleigh. Born 1958 and died 1997. After bailing out, he began recruiting future Riders in Jackson, and set up a CORE office there. Doctors estimate he has only six weeks to six months to live. "My hope was for him to apologize in a Christian way, to repent. I don't believe so. Related Videos Bloody Sunday(TV-14; 4:10) Civil Rights Foot Soldiers(TV-14; 4:10) March from Selma to Montgomery(TV-14; 4:13) People Photos Purpose. MARTIN: So in his world, he decides what true and not true. But it's this idea that he was teaching all his daughters to look at the evils in the world and within men whatever - whoever the man was, whether it's your father or the guy next door or your husband. In 1961, Nash was arrested for "contributing to the delinquency of minors," because she led young people in the fight against segregation. And we try to stay on one side of what we think is right and good. MARTIN: Have you spoken to your father since the trial? In his home state, Bevel created the SCLC Mississippi Project for voting rights in 1962. She later, she asked me to recount a tale - some other woman who in new environment, what happened. MARTIN: Your story was very painful to read. "I had really bad . In 1962, Bevel was invited to meet in Atlanta with Martin Luther King Jr, a minister who was head of the SCLC. In late 1963 Bevel, Nash, and Orange also worked with local grassroots organizations to educate blacks and support them in trying to gain registration as voters, but made little progress. Historian Taylor Branch quotes King in At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 19651968 (2006) as saying that "Andrew Young had given in to doubt, Bevel to brains, and Jackson to ambition", and said that the movement had made them and now they were using the movement to promote themselves. MARTIN: You wrote her a letter telling her what happen. Though not a lawyer, Mr. Bevel offered to represent Mr. Ray in court. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. While in the Seminary, Bevel joined the Nashville chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), then led by the Reverend . All rights reserved. But prosecutors said his illness should not temper his sentence. James L. Bevel, a prominent figure in the civil rights movement whose legacy was clouded by an incest conviction has died, a relative said. He became a true witness to both Jews and Gentiles that Jesus is the Christ. She was kind enough to join us here on our Washington studio. Bevel led this effort as the head of SCLCs Direct Action Department. James Luther Bevel was born in the farming community of Ittabena, Mississippi, on October 19, 1936. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. By signing up, you'll get thousands of step-by-step solutions to your homework questions. The city officials could not pretend that the Civil Rights Movement isn't a big deal (Gilmore). Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. The demonstration was spurred largely by the killing of a young protester by an Alabama state trooper. That protest gained worldwide attention and it made its mark by telling the world that equality is for everyone. Credited by Martin Luther King with initiating the Childrens Crusade during the, of 1963, James Bevel emerged as a civil rights leader from the ranks of the Nashville, Tennessee, student movement. After serving seven months, he was freed awaiting an appeal; he died of pancreatic cancer in December 2008 and was buried in Eutaw, Alabama. Accuracy and availability may vary. Her husband, James Bevel, was a civil rights activist, too. James Luther Bevel was born on October 19, 1936, in the town of Itta Bena, Mississippi. Omissions? Bevel died Friday in Virginia after . [15] Diane Nash, the Nashville Student Movement's chairman, urged the group to continue the Freedom Rides, and called for college volunteers from Fisk and other universities across the South. "Jim Bevel was Martin Luther King's most influential aide," civil rights historian David J. Garrow said. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. After the verdict, Bevel claimed that the charges were part of a conspiracy to destroy his reputation, and said that he might appeal. At trial, Bevel denied committing the sexual act and his recorded statement was used against him. *James Bevel was born on this date in 1936. He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1984, served as Lyndon LaRouches running mate in the 1992 U.S. presidential election, and helped organize the Million Man March in 1995. Come on down, stop on by. But, you know, I was sad because I knew that he wouldn't be a grandfather. I don't want to relive any of that. The large group were bludgeoned and tear-gassed in what became known as "Bloody Sunday". [28][29], Bevel moved to Omaha, Nebraska, in November 1990 as the leader of the "Citizens Fact-Finding Commission to Investigate Human Rights Violations of Children in Nebraska", a group organized by the Schiller Institute. James L. Bevel, a prominent figure in the civil rights movement whose legacy was clouded by an incest conviction has died, a relative said. One of the things that I was hoping for and some of my siblings were hoping for when we started this process with my father was that we could start to understand it. And then also for us to go together, because we didn't grow up together. And unfortunately not all of us are able to see the abuse even things that are obvious. This information, his behavior in now also part of history. Civil rights activist Reverend James Luther Bevel was born in Itta Bena, Mississippi, on October 19, 1936. In Birmingham when Dr. Martin Luther King was jailed, Bevel organized what became known as the Children's Crusade and faced Police Commissioner Bull Connor's fire hoses and police dogs. Bevel fought to desegregate downtown Birmingham stores, prompting police to respond with fire hoses and attack dogs against peaceful protesters. James Bevel. It contains an photo offset with an additional photo, coupled with a bio. It was known for its Bull Connor, its police department, its violation and bombing, and denigrating black people and it was very resistant city. In 1993, two 10-year-old boys tortured and murdered the toddler after leading him away from a . Arrested dozens of times for their civil rights work in Mississippi and Alabama in the early 1960s, Nash and her husband, James Bevel, received the SCLC's Rosa . James D Bevel James Bevel . James Bevel was born on the 19th of October, 1936. The Rev. Bevel married four times. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. He was a Black Civil rights activist and minister. There are a lot of people who would have run in the other direction, who would have just, look I am gone - I don't - I can't deal with this. Bevel also served as pastor and adviser to Chicago's Council of Mothers; the West Side Baptist Minister's Conference; WorkShip Coalition; and the Nation of Islam. What helped you to understand that? She is the daughter of James Bevel who was recently convicted of molesting her when she was a child. She is telling us her story of rape and recovery. MARTIN: Because you described kind of a cult-like environment where you were all being, the children, the family, the woman, and the family are being kind of trained to accept a certain kind of behavior. And my little sister who had a more recent experience in Chicago, she could have, but she could not talk. That it's supposed to be only for procreation, and you have to be forced to see that, just like you have to be forced to accept nonviolence by getting beaten. Bevel was convicted of unlawful fornication; he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined $50,000.