Julian Bond, the politician and civil rights activist, served four terms as a Georgia state representative and six terms in the Georgia State Senate. He was originally barred from taking his house seat in 1965 because of his outspoken statements against the Vietnam War. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor, and he was seated the next year. Bond was the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center and serves as chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Bond will be interviewed at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25, by Jabari Asim at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center at 601 S. Lincoln Ave. on the University of Illinois’ Urbana-Champaign campus. A reception will follow. Asim is a scholar-in-residence in the African American studies department in Urbana and author of “What Obama Means: … for our Culture, Our Politics, Our Future.”

Click here to download flyer.

Click here to download forum flyer.

For Senator Barack Hussein Obama, the question as to whether he was black enough to be the first serious African American candidate to secure his party’s nomination for the President of the United States of America was the ultimate litmus test.  White America seconded the motion by handing Senator John McCain a resounding defeat.  So, what is better than a White House Pass?  For the Obama’s it’s living there!

As for opportunity, the pendulum in history swings this way and that.  On the other hand, we cannot just talk about it we must be about the change we need as a nation.  The bleeding hearts of America can no longer comfortably hold onto the past and what might have been.  Whether red or blue states, opportunities multiply as they are seized; they die when neglected.

We have seized this moment in our time, not to perish in the flames of non-relevance or irreverence but to rise, like the phoenix from its ashes, high above our past crises.  This history cannot be denied.  We must reach across the aisle to those legislators, who refuse to do business as usual and give America the change it deserves, a change to believe in.

“Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they simply unveil them to the eyes of men,” said Brook Westcott.  “Silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or we grow weak, and at least some crisis shows us what we have become.”

America, the beautiful, with its cross-cultural counter-cultures has risen to soar beyond the amber waves of grain.  Gone are the traditional strains of familiar songs that defined the purple mountain majesty above the fruited plain in a non-contextual innuendo.  The reverberating Barack Obama victory has now permeated the air with a new song around the world.  It is a new song of America, a diverse America teaching the world to sing in a diversity of harmony—“Yes We Can.”

Character is not made in a crisis—it is only exhibited.  All America is in a state of emergency with its economic, energy, and environmental woes; and then there is the war.  However, it is possible that in spite of the four decades since the signing of The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the end of the Civil Rights Movement, the strides that were made have been eclipsed by the obvious disparities that continue to exist.  Yet, we have survived the fallout and the bailout because our eyes are on a bigger prize.

The road sometimes to success is not a road after all, but a super-highway to panoramic change.  Our country has handed the torch of Lady Liberty to one who will sign fresh legislation with an indelible mark that can obliterate or otherwise render the color line opaque in politics as usual.  How will he do so?  He can do it by remaining calm and profoundly unthreatening as he navigates uncharted waters, and using his faith as a compass.

Robert McAfee Brown draws our attention to a late medieval manuscript in which appears these words: “The Church is something like Noah’s Ark; if it weren’t for the storm outside, we could not stand the smell inside.”  President-elect Obama and his transition team are to be commended for the task before them and the change they must construct for all Americans.  They have weathered the election storm outside, now they must not be overcome by the sweet smell of success on the inside.  It’s time to go to work.

For whatever indecent and negative advertising that was committed or even perceived to be so, there is no future without forgiveness. Although our human rights and social infrastructure has been weakened and badly damaged, we must take an active role in “damage control” and through forgiveness attempt to heal those who have need of healing.

The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.  Obama was not seeking greatness he just wanted to be President of the United States of America.  This was no personal or political gain, only an opportunity to be a conduit for change and people underestimate their capacity for change until it finally arrives.  Is there ever a right time to pursue a difficult task?  If not, then a leader’s task is to help people have a vision of their potential.

Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.  A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.  Without vision, people will perish.  For this reason, we must be willing to walk the rubble-strewn path of intolerance and social injustice until it leads to the road of restoration—afterward victory and history that cannot be denied.  Thank you Martin, Barack and thank you God.  Yes, We Can.

Committed to Continue,

Rev. Jerome C. Chambers

Rev. Jerome C. Chambers, President

By Rev. Jerome C. Chambers, President

Champaign County NAACP

It’s that time again and the last four years will bring new voters to make choices for the candidates that best express what they want in government, be it local county, state or national. The people who vote regularly, election after election know what is at stake in this election. The choice is individual and everyone that of voting age should be registered and thinking about how they will cast their ballot. Vote your values and value your vote!

The NAACP cannot and will not tell anyone of voting age how to vote or which candidate to choose. However, voting is a privilege every citizen should use as his right. It is time for your individual voice can be heard. It is louder than a bullhorn. It is more effective than a banner or a march. It is your right according to the 1965 Voter’s Right Act.

When you vote consider whether you believe government is a “color thing” or a “political thing.” Politically speaking, no group is perfect. Our political system is built upon the opinions of men and women. Many issues we are facing today in our cities, counties and statewide are just as debatable as our national assessment of whether we are better off than we were at any given time. We must vote our values and value our votes.

“Who’s” on first and “What’s” on second, was a great comedy routine for Abbot & Costello, but it has come down to health care, economic policy and taxation. This is no laughing matter. There is no comedic relief when people cannot discern between what is right and what is wrong.

We should not assume that all African Americans vote for Democrats, no more than we should assume that other predominate races or cultures vote Republican. However, we should all assume that the election of 2008 will be a milestone in American history and what is at stake for the survival of the American people will be the determining factor of what kind of government the people want. What the American people get depends largely on whether one is voting for a man, a woman, a political party or a cause.

Various groups and organizations have registrars available. They are preparing to get out the vote. It will be our attempt to post voter registration sites. Check out this website for updates. Register before Tuesday, October 7, 2008 to vote in the November election. Stand for something or fall for everything. Do your homework on each candidate. Do not be taken for granted. Vote your values and value your vote.