But he was also a child predator, who exploited the trust of his family by molesting his daughter Aaralyn Mills. MARTIN: Some people would call it intervention. 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. 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. James Bevel was born on October 19, 1936 and died on December 19, 2008. Bevel, Memo to King, 13 April 1964, MLKJP-GAMK. 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:[2][3] the 1963 Birmingham Children's Crusade,[4] the 1965 Selma voting rights movement, and the 1966 Chicago open housing movement. We have great country we live in that had slavery. In order to off-set these trends, the non-violent must project and execute a program that will [allow] more Negroes to become convinced of the effectiveness of non-violence and the principles of it. MARTIN: You wrote her a letter telling her what happen. She was kind enough to join us here on our Washington studio. "Everyone dies. MARTIN: Your father's name is one that appears in many, many history books. What was the location of death? He fathered 16 children with nine women, Orrin told The Associated Press. Bevel suggested recruiting students in the campaign. Particularly my - one of my - little sister, not the youngest one that was in the household, but particularly her because I had, I had sought to protect to her. Bevel then launched into an extended explanation of his philosophy, which includes applying the teachings of the New Testament to the "science of constitutionality." How do you understand that? At trial, Bevel denied committing the sexual act and his recorded statement was used against him. Yet when he died, disgraced after a conviction for incest in 2008 (the incident occurred in 1993, and Bevel said he was innocent), he was almost as unknown as he was in the 1960s. Though not a lawyer, Mr. Bevel offered to represent Mr. Ray in court. Charismatic and eloquently quick-witted in a vernacular style, Mr. Bevel was known as a man of passion and peculiarity. Bevel led this effort as the head of SCLCs Direct Action Department. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. 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. When King was jailed, Bevel organized black children and marched against Commissioner Bull Connor's fire hoses and police dogs. This beautifully matted collector's photo presentation is a collage. [7], Prior to his time with SCLC, Bevel worked in the Nashville Student Movement, which conducted the 1960 Nashville Lunch-Counter Sit-Ins, the 1961 Open Theater Movement, and recruited students to continue the 1961 Freedom Rides after they were attacked. He died on December 19, 2008 in Springfield, Virginia, USA. Updated: October 8, 2011 . And the suns from the West. But first, we go behind Closed Doors, that's our weekly segment when we talk about painful issues. And that was the pretty much the catalyst for my understanding that maybe it's not just me that's feels uncomfortable, maybe this is wrong. The accuser was one of his daughters, who was 1315 years old at the time and lived with him. In 1969, Bevel left SCLC and created the Making of a Man Clinic in 1970. James L. Bevel, 72, an Adviser to Dr. King, Is Dead James Luther Bevel (October 19, 1936 December 19, 2008) was a minister and leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The duo wanted to be sure that young people knew how they could be most effective during protests because they had been blamed for strike-related violence previously. 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. From the Helen L. Bevel Archives, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Bevel&oldid=1140934352, Statements by Rev. He was buried in Eutaw, Alabama. Diane Nash is an acclaimed American civil rights activist. Ms. MILLS: There are eight girls. And it reminded us that those feelings of being ashamed and alone can be magnified when the perpetrator is in a position of trust, highly regarded by the community, perhaps a family member. He is awaiting sentence now. Far from be-ing "secondary," King's popular essays and incandes-cent oratory made him unique. Bevel was forced from his position in the SCLC after exhibiting erratic behaviour. You can also ask your. This rally was attended by tens of thousands of peace activists who followed the growing counterculture movement. Death of James I - Philippa Gregory And she was telling things that I experienced and that connected to me. A one-time top lieutenant to Martin Luther King Jr. was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for having sex more than a decade ago with his then-teenage daughter. Do you have any idea where you were able to find that within yourself to do this? In the 1960s, Bevel was a leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, two of the stalwart organizations that led efforts to desegregate the South. And I would always tell her the things that he did to me and what he would say if he got a chance to do it to her. And we just - it just didn't worked because he reverts back to his role as the leader or the person who has to teach and help everybody to understand his perspective. So, I didn't feel that it was wrong. He was tried in April 2008, convicted of incest, sentenced to 15 years in prison,[11] and fined $50,000. James Luther Bevel (October 19, 1936 - December 19, 2008) was a minister and leader of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement in the United States.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 . Following the nationwide publicity generated by Jackson's death and the previous attack on peaceful marchers, hundreds of religious, labor and civic leaders, many celebrities, and activists and citizens of many ethnicities traveled to Selma to join the march. Weeks of demonstrations and marches resulted in King, Ralph Abernathy, and Shuttlesworth being arrested and jailed. Lafayette and his wife, Colia Lidell, also opened an SNCC project in Selma, Alabama, to assist the work of local organizers such as Amelia Boynton. It contains an photo offset with an additional photo, coupled with a bio. Born in Itta Bena, Mississippi, James Luther Bevel grew up partly in Cleveland, Ohio. Bevel never submitted the collected petitions and left the state the following summer. "It's fading, but I still have a strong feeling that my father was doing something, that he was working on some truth," said Mills, who agreed to be identified publicly. The victims hoped for an apology and some reconciliation, but Bevel mocked the notion of an apology. And know that it could come back to them pretty harsh. MARTIN: Sounds like you would have made a hell of an organizer? In 1962, Bevel was invited to meet in Atlanta with Martin Luther King Jr, a minister who was head of the SCLC. They agreed to continue until they had achieved these goals, and to ask for funding from the SCLC only if the group was involved in organizing a movement. James Bevel, the Rev. Ms. MILLS: I don't, I don't think he's mentally ill. James found out he had a gallbladder infection and needed emergency surgery. After the scare, James says it took a month of "intensive therapy" before he could get back on stage. He's been violent, mean and abusive, but he's always been honest.". I mean my little sister was 14 at that time, but what if you know - what can you really do? And as if it was a conspiracy against him. She was prominently involved with integrating lunch counters through sit-ins, the Freedom Riders, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating . We know that James E Bevel had been residing in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana 46012. Considered Martin Luther King, Jr 's most influential colleague and . The Words and Actions of Martin Luther King, Jr. - JSTOR She wrote a remarkable series of articles that told his story as well as her own. Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place. I am equally as devastated and disgusted by his pedophilia," Orrin said. Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Bevel had hoped for probation so he could enter hospice care. After serving seven months, he was freed awaiting an appeal; he died of pancreatic cancer in December 2008 and was buried in Eutaw, Alabama. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. whose influence spurred a pivotal event of the civil rights movement, the childrens crusade in Birmingham, Ala., but whose reputation was later marred by fringe political associations and a criminal conviction this year on incest charges involving a teenage daughter, died Friday in Springfield, Va. The chain of events and police violence that was captured on national television ultimately culminated in the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. After the success of this action, and with the aid of SCLC's Ella Baker, activist students from Nashville and across the South developed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He passed away on 19 December 2008 from pancreatic cancer. In 1993, two 10-year-old boys tortured and murdered the toddler after leading him away from a . He was recently released on bond while appealing a 15-year prison sentence. James Bevel Biography, Life, Interesting Facts - Famous Birthdays By What happened James Bevel? [5] Together the groups became collectively known as the Selma Voting Rights Movement, with James Bevel as its director. [12], In 1960, along with James Lawson's and Myles Horton's students Bernard Lafayette, John Lewis, Diane Nash, C.T. Come on down, stop on by. But that you have to come to some understanding of what sex is outside of pleasure. I'm Michel Martin, and this is tell me more from NPR News. After the resurrection, however, he is one of the leading figures in the church. [17] Activists encountered severe violence at that time and retreated to regroup. "My hope was for him to apologize in a Christian way, to repent. Recently, Mills shared her story in the Washington Post Magazine, and she joins us now. John Lewis, another King confidant who has been a Georgia congressman for more than 20 years, recalled in a memoir that at Spelman College in Atlanta, Mr. Bevel once declared himself a prophet and made his student disciples drink urine to signal their loyalty. And we try to stay on one side of what we think is right and good. Come on down, stop on by. The actor's assistant, Karen Lindsey, confirmed his death in a Facebook post, stating that he died of natural . 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. James Arthur: 'I thought I was going to die on stage' - BBC News Judge Frank Johnson approved a public march. He was looking at her and talking about her and, you know, being his jolly self, and I actually got really, really sad because I realized that, you know, I won't be able to experience him anymore. Ms. MILLS: Yeah, it was - it was like intervention, but for my father it was a meeting, it was a, you know, you present your case, I'll present my case. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. American comedian and civil rights activist. James Bevel was born on October 19, 1936 and died on December 19, 2008. THE DIGITAL REPOSITORY FOR THE BLACK EXPERIENCE. James Bevel Obituary (2008) - Atlanta, GA - Legacy.com 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.