Hamer was incensed by efforts to deny Blacks the right to vote. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. I love him for his role in the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the vote I was able to cast that helped put a man of color in the White House. I don't want to live that anymore. You can cancel at any time. In 1992, he was vice presidential running mate to political maverick Lyndon LaRouche, who has a home in Loudoun County but at the time was in a federal prison for a tax conviction. He served in the U.S. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Ms. MILLS: Right, because I always wrote letters. 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). 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. The accuser, one of his daughters, was 13-15 years old and lived with him in the Leesburg apartment. Do you have any idea where you were able to find that within yourself to do this? Ms. MILLS: I don't, I don't think he's mentally ill. MARTIN: So in his world, he decides what true and not true. In 2005, Bevel was accused of incest by one of his daughters and abuse by three others. But her father, who one relative said had been sexually abused as a child himself, refused to get help and give them custody of his daughter, she said. In 1962 Bevel met with Rev. My childhood was isolated in terms of - I wasn't isolated in terms of I couldn't interact with people outside, or I didn't go to school but in terms of my father's teachings. What if I do, we do remove my little sister from the environment and what if she decides to go back when she's 17 or 18 to see her dad, and he does the same thing and she gets wrapped up in his spell. She spoke out about her abuse to protect a younger sister. After leaving the SCLC the year prior, Bevel created the Making of the Man Clinic in 1970. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. And in order to make the case in the absence of physical evidence which is long since disappeared because you had grown up and moved away from being the zone of harm is that you confronted your father in a recorded monitored conversation with law enforcement where you confronted him about his behavior. He grew up in rural LeFlore County of the Mississippi Delta and in Cleveland. 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. And I think, all of us were abused in some way or another. 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. Vivian and others, Bevel participated in the Nashville Sit-In Movement organized by Nash, whom he would later marry to desegregate the city's lunch counters. During what was later called the Birmingham Children's Crusade, President John F. Kennedy asked King to stop using children in the campaign. She was kind enough to join us here on our Washington studio. Bevel had 16 children with nine women. SNCC had been conducting a Voting Rights Project (headed by Prathia Hall and Worth Long) since the early 1960s, meeting with violence in Alabama. Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Market data provided by Factset. . And it's the beginning because we - and our next step is to really continue to work on, part of it is brainstorming of how do you protect children within the home. He doesn't understand the whole dynamics of what's going on now. [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. 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. Housing in the area was segregated in a de facto way, enforced by covenants and real estate practices. He was recently released on bond while appealing a 15-year. Those that suffer in similar or different ways need to know that they don't have to carry the burden of their trauma and pain for the rest of their lives. He worked on a cotton plantation for a time as a youth and later in a steel mill. This civil rights activist, minister, lyricist, and human rights advocate gained a national reputation for both his . But when I was there, I actually saw it. I don't believe so. 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. The Rev. Slappy's reopens after two year closure. I secured political freedoms for you." But prosecutors said his illness should not temper his sentence. "I am equally devastated and disgusted by his pedophilia.". "Saying 'I'm sorry' is a game we play. The four-day trial in Loudoun County Circuit Court included bizarre testimony about Bevel's philosophies for eradicating lust, and parents' duty to "sexually orient" their children. 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. I'm Michel Martin, and this is tell me more from NPR News. "I do love my father," she wrote me in a follow-up e-mail. But Bevel testified and denied the charge. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, It includes this line: I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', Lord, keep on a-talking, Lord, marching up to freedom land. In the melee, Jackson was shot in the stomach while defending his mother from an attack. The Movement began to stage regular marches to the county courthouse, which had limited hours for blacks to register as voters. He was tried in April 2008, convicted of incest, sentenced to 15 years in prison, [11] and fined $50,000. 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. James Luther Bevel (October 19, 1936 December 19, 2008) was a minister and leader of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Some protesters were jailed, but the movement kept the pressure on. Civil rights activist Reverend James Luther Bevel was born in Itta Bena, Mississippi, on October 19, 1936. 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. Recently, Mills shared her story in the Washington Post Magazine, and she joins us now. Bevel died Friday in Virginia. or redistributed. After King was assassinated, Bevel made a bizarre[a] claim that James Earl Ray was not the killer and that he had evidence that Ray was innocent. In the 1960s, Bevel was a leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), two of the stalwart organizations that led efforts to desegregate the South. Will YouTube dim the fire of preachers to the powerful. She said that "his thought process was this worldwide movement was for us.". James L. Bevel dies at 72; civil rights activist and top lieutenant to King", "Bevel v. Commonwealth (Va.Ct.App., 14 Sept. 2010)", "Bevel v. Commonwealth (Va.S.Ct., 4 Nov. 2011)", "Years After Change, Activist Lives Her Conviction", "Common Is James Bevel, Andre Holland Is Andrew Young In Ava DuVernay's Mlk Tale 'Selma', (see request for download at bottom of page). Happiness is amazing. MARTIN: Your father's name is one that appears in many, many history books. They, Nash, and others stayed in Mississippi to work on grassroots organizing. After the verdict, Bevel claimed that the charges were part of a conspiracy to destroy his reputation, and said that he might appeal. Eventually, her former husband agreed. The Rev. Jurors heard a phone call between Bevel and his daughter in which he never explicitly admits to sexual intercourse but seems to take for granted that it occurred. Originally planned as a rally in Central Park, the United Nations Anti-Vietnam War March became the largest demonstration in American history to that date. 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. Judge Frank Johnson approved a public march. "My hope was for him to apologize in a Christian way, to repent. Its so amazing it doesnt matter if its yours or not. Their meetings occurred at Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church, and it was from there that Bevel directed the students, 50 at a time, to peacefully walk to Birmingham's City Hall to talk to Mayor Art Hanes about segregation in the city. He's been violent, mean and abusive, but he's always been honest.". This was followed by a number of erratic-seeming episodes in his life. MARTIN: You wrote her a letter telling her what happen. During the call he explains the importance of teaching his daughter "the science of marriage" and admits that he did not want her to get pregnant after the incident. Ms. MILLS: And it's an hour and a half of him explaining his position. He is awaiting sentence now. MARTIN: How did you become aware that this was wrong? It happened in the Memphis area when she staying with her father while her mother was out of town. He also is the man who persuaded . A bubbly toddler might not seem to have much in common with the daughter of a convicted child molester, but Liese sees only the similarities as Athena slips on the kitchen floor and bounces back, still laughing. And so I chose a very difficult conversation we had in June with a daughter of civil rights strategist James Bevel. And yes, she dismissed it in that regard. He renamed the organization the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, recruited members of many diverse groups, and organized the April 15, 1967 march from Central Park to the United Nations Building in New York City. At the turn of the 20th century, southern state legislatures had passed new constitutions and laws that effectively disenfranchised most blacks. The Rev. [6] Hearing of this plan, and in response to the city's violent treatment of the students, the Kennedy administration asked SCLC's leaders what they wanted in a comprehensive civil rights bill. Four other daughters make allegationsProsecutors estimated that Bevel, who is eligibile for parole, would serve no more than five years if he were to live that long. Martin Luther King Jr. and a force behind civil rights campaigns of the 1960s whose erratic behavior and conviction on incest charges. We didn't know each other really, and we were just getting to know each other, but I didn't know how difficult it would be. She filed for divorce in 2010 and fought to share custody of Athena. I mean my little sister was 14 at that time, but what if you know - what can you really do? Bevel had hoped for probation so he could enter hospice care. He initiated the 1967 March on the United Nations as part of the anti-war movement. James Bevel was one of seventeen children born to a sharecropping family in Itta Bena, Mississippi. In 2007, one of his daughters accused him of molesting her in the 90s. The national and international media covered the story, and photographs of the force used against schoolchildren generated public outrage against the city and its officials. Bevel never submitted the collected petitions and left the state the following summer. James L. Bevel, The Freedom Rides, This page was last edited on 26 March 2023, at 04:18. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Residents ask school board where is the outrage after drag performance; school system will revise agreement with Forsyth Tech, No new vaccinations would be allowed in North Carolina for 3 years under bill filed in N.C. House, Slice of Napoli closing; new pizza place moving in, Jim Spivey, a former athletics director at Reynolds High School, dies. As the Chicago movement neared its conclusion A. J. Muste, David Dellinger, representatives of North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, and others asked Bevel to take over the directorship of the Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam. Her father, the Rev. Orrin and several of her siblings finally took action against him four years ago out of concern for his 7-and-a half-year-old daughter. I had no idea that it happened to anyone but me including my other sisters. [26][27] A year earlier, Bevel had denounced the deprogramming of a Moon follower and called for the protection of religious rights. *James Bevel was born on this date in 1936. . When she approaches people and identifies herself as James Bevels and my daughter, many are very welcoming and attempt to help her in any way possible, not knowing that she and I have been estranged for decades. Bevel and others were grieved and outraged. I think the community has not yet figured out what's the proper response to deal with pedophilia," said Orrin, who runs the WhiteSpace Gallery with her husband and is an administrator at Winston-Salem State University. American civil rights leader and politician, American comedian and civil rights activist. It was such a fundamental affront to human dignity, to force sex upon a girl who's too young to consent, too young to understand what's going on, to abuse your position as the head of the household. Mr. Bevel had been released from prison in November because he had pancreatic cancer.. And I was always buffering between my father, I never let her be alone with him. Less than a month after his sentencing in October 2008, Bevel was released from prison on appeal. At the age of seventy-two, James Bevel had seen and experienced more than most men. [12], In 1960, along with James Lawson's and Myles Horton's students Bernard Lafayette, John Lewis, Diane Nash, C.T. In a Post story chronicling Lieses decision to come forward about the abuse, she described a trauma room, where her father slid onto her bed fondling her. Liese formerly Mills before creating a new last name to replace her ex-husbands says she forgave and let go long before the trial. Kennedy's staff, who already were drafted one, came to an agreement on its contents with SCLC's leadership. 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. 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. "[33] When Bevel introduced LaRouche at a convention of the 1996 National African American Leadership Summit, both men were booed off the stage. [8][9], Bevel soon became SCLC's Director of Direct Action and Director of Nonviolent Education to augment King's positions as SCLC's Chairman and spokesperson. But, you know, I was sad because I knew that he wouldn't be a grandfather. [6] Bevel went to the children and asked them to prepare to take to the highways for a march on Washington, with the goal of questioning the President about his plans to end legal segregation in America. She is the daughter of James Bevel who was recently convicted of molesting her when she was a child. Accuracy and availability may vary. James Bevel. 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. You have permission to edit this article. "He confronted Bevel, who had been a mentor to Jackson and Young, as 'a genius who flummoxed his own heart'. In the 1960s, Bevel was a leader in the Southern Christian Leadership. That was our hope, but he wasn't ready to look at himself. According to a 2003 interview,[24] Bevel's favorite color was black, his favorite food was avocado, and his favorite time of year was spring. [13] King was initially reluctant, but agreed. And I never understood that. Bevel proposed organizing the Alabama Voting Rights Project, and co-wrote the project proposal with his wife Diane Nash. I wrote her I love you letters, and you know, this was my day letters. Bevel pleaded not guilty to the one count charged and maintained his innocence. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. [14], The Open Theater Movement, led by Bevel, had success in Nashville, the only city in the country where SCLC activists had organized such an action. MARTIN: I mean you were a very young girl when the abuse started. And unfortunately not all of us are able to see the abuse even things that are obvious. Organizers appealed to the federal court against an injunction by the state against marching in order to complete their planned march to the capital. James Bevel, one of the architects of the civil rights movement, a chief lieutenant to Dr. Martin Luther King, was also a child molester. When people ask me what my childhood was like, I know they expect a dark, ugly story, she says. 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). Because the executor of Bevel's estate had not sought to prosecute the appeal, the Court affirmed the dismissal of his appeal as moot. And we try to stay on one side of what we think is right and good. A young man, he died a few days later. And then also for us to go together, because we didn't grow up together. In spite of everything, I was a happy kid, resilient, she says. "Everyone dies. In April 2008 he was convicted of committing incest with one of his daughters and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. Nashville Student Movement (1960-61) and SNCC, Dispute with President John F. Kennedy and the March on Washington, Alabama Project and the Selma Voting Rights Movement (1965), Chicago Freedom Movement (1965-1966) and the Anti-Vietnam War Movement (1967), 1986 Summit proposal, and teaming up with Moon, and LaRouche (1980s and 1990s), Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Presidency of John F. Kennedy Civil rights, Learn how and when to remove this template message, bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church, Martin Luther King Jr. assassination conspiracy theories, At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 19651968, was not the killer and that he had evidence that Ray was innocent, Franklin child prostitution ring allegations, National African American Leadership Summit, African American founding fathers of the United States, Faithful to my Father's Dream, Enoch Bevel, "Movement Revision Research Summary Regarding James Bevel", Thomas Ricks, NPR interview, October 4, 2022, "Civil Rights Leader Convicted of Incest", "James L. Bevel, 72, an Adviser to Dr. King, Is Dead", "Labor unions were key to march's success", "The Day The Pentagon Was Supposed To Lift Off Into Space", "Civil rights leader convicted of incest", LaRouche Connection Master List 1991-1995, "Allegations Pour In Against Civil Rights Leader Accused Of Incest", "Incest Verdict Is Bittersweet For Daughter Of Minister", "The Rev. Hoffman said there were questions about the timeline the daughter said she could not recall exactly what year the act occurred, and her recollection of when she lived in Virginia did not fully mesh with school records and other testimony. [19] He worked to create tenant unions and build grassroots action to "end" slums. MARTIN: Some people would call it intervention. [30] The commission was associated with conspiracy theorist Lyndon LaRouche, and sought to persuade the state legislature to reopen its two-year investigation into the Franklin child prostitution ring allegations. MARTIN: If you are just joining us, I'm speaking with Aaralyn Mills. 4. James L. Bevel, a fiery top lieutenant of the Rev. Ms. AARALYN MILLS (Abuse Victim): Thank you for having me. This information, his behavior in now also part of history. 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. Though initially reluctant, Dr. King finally agreed. Ms. MILLS: Well, in that it was going to be in the news, the story the side of the - my side should be told. They could go to jail for this. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. That's not to excuse the extremes in which people go, but it's the understanding. Bevel had 16 children with nine women. The Rev. Hoping for him 'to repent'Bevel's daughter, Aaralyn Mills, testified about the conflicting feelings she has had as she pursued the case against her father, a man that she said she still loves and respects in many aspects. She was not able to deal with it. The following day, when more students arrived at the church and started to walk to city hall, Eugene "Bull" Connor, City Commissioner of Public Safety, ordered that German Shepherd dogs and high-pressure fire hoses be used to stop them. They were severely penalized for missing work and were trying to support their families. 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. MARTIN: One thing I want to point out is that one of the reasons that you decided to move forward with pressing charges is that there was a young woman in the house or a young girl in the house, with your father at the time your parents marriage had ended. In 2005, Bevel was accused of incest by one of his daughters and abuse by three others. And then, so what are the options for children? Three months after the March on Washington, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson ascended to the Oval Office. [40], In 1961, Bevel married activist Diane Nash after he completed his seminary studies. Bevel was born in 1936 in Itta Bena, Mississippi, the son of Illie and Dennis Bevel. I have to say, I think that it is powerfully courageous thing to do. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). In 1967, Bevel was chairman of the Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam. This was financially backed by the Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon, which appeared to be trying to improve its controversial image by allying with such respected leaders. "If you're going to bring it up at all, deal with it in a way that's helpful and healing," she said last week. We'll talk about that in just a few minutes. James Bevel was one of the key strategists of the civil rights movement. And as if it was a conspiracy against him. Almost 1,000 students were arrested on the first day. They were poor, and Bevel was a civil-rights giant. Bevel then launched into an extended explanation of his philosophy, which includes applying the teachings of the New Testament to the "science of constitutionality." [32] He engaged in LaRouche seminars on issues including "Is the Anti Defamation League the new KKK? His l. Years later, Orrin said, she asked her mother why they never pressed charges. "At the end of the day, they're still our fathers, our mothers, our uncles and aunts and brothers and sisters," she said. Orrin and several of her siblings finally took action against him four years ago out of concern for his 7-and-a half-year-old daughter. But he was also a child predator, who exploited the trust of his family by molesting his daughter Aaralyn Mills. [24], In the 1980s, Bevel supported Ronald Reagan as president. He died on December 19, 2008, Springfield, VA. He decides what's right and not right. This defendant should die in jail.". Martin Luther King Jr. and a legendary leader of the student sit-in and Freedom Ride movements. We are not just, you know, one way all the time. They should have been helping her father confront his problem, she said. In the phone call between Bevel and his daughter, Bevel never made an explicit admission that he had sexual intercourse with his daughter. Ms. MILLS: Is he appealing? No one wants the government in their home. 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. When:August 3-4, 2016, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm daily Trainers:Mary Lou Finley, Pam Smith & Gail Schechter With remarks on nonviolence by Sherri Bevel, daughter of Chicago civil rights activists James Bevel and Diane Nash LEARNyCONNECTyORGANIZE The beloved community Six Principles and Six Steps How to conduct a nonviolent campaign He was educated at segregated local schools in both Mississippi and Cleveland. The Court of Appeals affirmed this judgment. She. How should we think about those two James Bevels? Unable to have children of their own, the Hamers adopted two daughters. In 1963, SCLC agreed to assist its co-founder, Fred Shuttlesworth, and others in their work on desegregating retail businesses and jobs in Birmingham, Alabama, where discussion and negotiations with city officials had yielded few results. He joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She testified Tuesday that he had sexual intercourse with her when she was 15 in the early 1990s after he pressured her by saying the sex would relieve him from demons that were sapping his strength. [35], During the trial, prosecutors presented key evidence: a 2005 police-sting telephone call recorded by the Leesburg police without Bevel's knowledge. Hoffman also questioned why the daughter returned to voluntarily live with her father after the alleged incest. Naval Reserve in 1954 and 1955 before entering the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee. Daughter reconciles conflicting images of famous father. Bevel spent weeks developing strategy, recruiting and educating students in the philosophy and techniques of nonviolence. 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. She is telling us her story of rape and recovery. 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. "We know that the defendant is dying," said Prosecutor Gigi Lawless. Instead, Bevel mocked the notion of an apology. He can be reached at 727-7357 or at jrailey@wsjournal.com. Suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer, Bevel was released on bond due to ill health in November, and died at another daughter's home in December. Updates? MARTIN: Sounds like you would have made a hell of an organizer? James Bevel (1936-2008) James Bevel was one of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s most trusted advisors during the American Civil Rights campaigns of the mid-20th century. "There is something that reeks of moral depravity when an individual, whose sworn responsibility is to protect and serve and is fired for what. She recently finished a book, Becoming Aaralyn, and is looking for a publisher, a search she thinks will lead to Europe.
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