MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Today, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the nation mourn the loss of civil rights and voting rights activist Bernard LaFayette. He was 85.
“As the nation remembers the civil rights martyrs of ‘Bloody Sunday,’ we have sadly lost one of this country’s strongest advocates in the ongoing struggle to make our democracy more inclusive and open for all. Bernard LaFayette’s legacy is that of a man who could no longer watch the injustices of segregation trample the rights of Black Southerners,” said Tafeni English-Relf, Alabama state director, SPLC. “LaFayette was one of the brave foot soldiers aiding in the dangerous voter registration campaign in Selma, Alabama, prior to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”
Two years before the march on Selma, LaFayette organized, mobilized and registered Black Alabamians to vote despite the possible violence they would face. It was a bold, daring move that set our nation on a course for revolutionary change in the bleakest hour. He also helped establish the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which organized desegregation sit-ins and voting rights campaigns across the Deep South.
“Without LaFayette’s courage, the realities of so many lives may be different today,” English-Relf added. “His unshakable desire for justice, equality, equity and the need to protect voting rights should inspire us all to always champion freedom over the blight of oppression.”
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About the Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people. For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.