[Marxism] Rev. James Bevel Dies Noted Civil Rights Activist

[David Walsh <davidrail68@xxxxxxxxx>]

By Dorothy Rowley 
AFRO Staff Writer
(December 23, 2008) - The Rev. James L. Bevel, who served as a top lieutenant 
to Martin Luther King Jr. before helping to organize the 1995 Million Man March 
on Washington, has died. He was 72.

At the time of his death in Springfield, Va., on Dec. 19 from pancreatic 
cancer, Bevelâs legacy had become clouded by a conviction this past spring 
for having sex 10 years ago with one of his then-teenage daughters. He had been 
living in Northern Virginia when the crime occurred.

According to the Associated Press, the four-day trial divided members of 
Bevel's large family, with relatives testifying for both the prosecutor and 
defense. He was sentenced in October to 15 years in prison and had served time 
prior to being released in November on bond while the case was on appeal.

At the time of his release doctors said he had only a few months to live.

In the 1960s, Bevel was a leader in both the Southern Christian Leadership 
Conference and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, two of the most 
tenacious organizations that led efforts to desegregate the South.

As a key figure in civil rights marches in Selma, Ala., Bevel had also been the 
architect of the 1963 Childrenâs Crusade in Birmingham, Ala.

His fight to desegregate downtown Birmingham stores prompted police to respond 
with fire hoses and attack dogs against peaceful protesters. The Baptist 
preacher had also rallied young people in the city to get involved in civil 
rights demonstrations â something King and other advisers objected to.

Bevel was also active in the anti-war movement and greatly influenced King, 
whom Bevel encouraged to confront the Vietnam War more directly.

After King's assassination in 1968, Bevel helped lead many of King's unfinished 
efforts, such as a demonstration to support striking sanitation workers in 
Memphis.

But in the decades following Kingâs death some of Bevelâs critics began to 
note a change in his behavior, saying heâd taken on an erratic demeanor, such 
as in 1992 when he was vice presidential running mate to political extremist 
Lyndon LaRouche. At the time, LaRouche was in federal prison for a tax 
conviction.

Born to sharecroppers on Oct. 19, 1936, in Itta Bena, Miss., Bevel was one of 
17 children. He had stints in the Navy and graduated in 1961 from Nashville's 
American Baptist Theological Seminary. 
Married four times, he reportedly fathered 16 children with nine women.

 


      

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