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James Bevel was one of the key strategists of the civil rights movement. 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. 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. 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. He was recently released on bond while appealing a 15-year. Do you see it that way? [23] Bevel continued to oppose the Poor People's Campaign, but served as its Director of Nonviolent Education. And unfortunately not all of us are able to see the abuse even things that are obvious. Who can they turn to? I think he's more like a spoiled child in which he has been doing and being the way he is for so long that he gets away with it. And I was always buffering between my father, I never let her be alone with him. Orrin said he made no denials. How many of your sisters? [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. Some veteran civil-rights activists told her and her siblings not to press charges against Bevel, Orrin said, because the publicity would hurt the legacy of the movement. Bevel was born in Itta Bena, Mississippi, on 19 October 1936. He was 72. And he used his historical background in the civil rights as an example of see what I did so far, I'm still doing that. And yes, she dismissed it in that regard. Ms. MILLS: I don't, I don't think he's mentally ill. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Daughter reconciles conflicting images of famous father Watching her 3-year-old daughter, Athena, clad in a pink leotard, twirl around her bright downtown Washington apartment, Aaralyn Liese says she cant help but be reminded of her own childhood. She wants to help them by starting a monthly support group, WhiteSpace SafeSpace, that will meet at her gallery. The Sad Fall of James Bevel. | PostBourgie James Bevel was one of seventeen children born to a sharecropping family in Itta Bena, Mississippi. They worked together on civil rights, and had a daughter and son together. The Rev. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Unable to have children of their own, the Hamers adopted two daughters. 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. What if that does happen? After serving seven months, he was freed awaiting an appeal; he died of pancreatic cancer in December 2008 and was buried in Eutaw, Alabama. She shares her story, reflections about her father, and her experience as an abuse survivor. And my grandmother was also there, and I didn't want my grandmother to know. Naval Reserve in 1954 and 1955 before entering the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee. 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. Ms. MILLS: It is hard to describe because it's part of the whole environment that we lived in, in terms of having meetings to discuss problems. Things we often feel we have to keep hidden. Martin Luther King Jr., the head of the SCLC. She and several of her siblings compiled affidavits detailing sexual abuse and confronted their father. Ready to start the second half of my life, after the funeral, Liese says she began to question her marriage. Public defender Bonnie Hoffman urged the jury to ignore evidence that Bevel led an unconventional, communal lifestyle in which he taught that it was parents' duty to "sexually orient" their children. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. *James Bevel was born on this date in 1936. She married James Henry Bevel in Corpus Christi on January 27, 1956. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [5] Together the groups became collectively known as the Selma Voting Rights Movement, with James Bevel as its director. I don't want to relive any of that. 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. He subsequently joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), serving as project director and becoming one of the most influential advisers to the SCLCs head, Martin Luther King, Jr. On Bevels recommendation, hundreds of youth were mobilized in 1963 in the childrens crusade to participate in peaceful antisegregation protests in downtown Birmingham, Ala. I have to say, I think that it is powerfully courageous thing to do. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The judge . James Bevel - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia 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. And we have to find a way, because they exist. And that you know they're my children, because my son knows his grandfather and he knows Martin Luther King and you know very respectful of him. I would not have been able to do that without my other sisters. He told the court that he was the father of 16 children by 7 women. MARTIN: We were corresponding about your coming on the program because I had to be honest, I was hesitant to contact you because I was worried that you would see it as an intrusion or as a burden to talk about something so painful, again. In spite of everything, I was a happy kid, resilient, she says. Legal Statement. Virginia Jury Convicts MLK Confidant James Bevel of Incest With His In 1967, Bevel was chairman of the Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. The Rev. Reverend James Bevel's Biography - The HistoryMakers That summer, Hamer attended a meeting led by civil rights activists James Forman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and James Bevel of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). I don't understand how parents violate their children in any way, realizing their children will grow up, and they're not going to forget. Politically Mr. Bevel drifted to the right, supporting Ronald Reagans presidency and tying himself to Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr., the perpetual fringe candidate for president. A top lieutenant to Martin Luther King Jr. has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for incest. Martin Luther King Jr. to tear down the walls of segregation. I don't want to live that anymore. And he placed himself in the position of being the person who was going to save the world. James L. Bevel, 71, a key architect of the 1963 Children's Crusade in Birmingham, Ala., and other pivotal moments of the civil rights movement, was convicted earlier this year of a. We are not just, you know, one way all the time. Updates? This kind of pseudo-philosophical - I'm not even sure - how do would you describe it? In April of this year, Mr. Bevel was convicted of having sexual intercourse with one of his daughters in the 1990s, when the girl was a teenager. The Struggle Continues Kingian Style Nonviolence By Sherry Cannon [13], Actor and rapper Common portrays Bevel in the 2014 film Selma.[42]. 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. The Rev. Ms. MILLS: Is he appealing? Ms. MILLS: Her - the exact statement was that I spelled molest wrong. How did she react? He was convicted earlier this year of having sex 15 years ago with his then-teenage daughter in Virginia. In 1962 Bevel met with Rev. At her father's recent funeral in an Alabama church, Chevara Orrin of Winston-Salem listened to one civil-rights veteran after another praise him. Family members who confronted Bevel in 2004 during a family meeting testified that Bevel read a written accusation by his daughter and replied that he did not contest the facts as laid out by his daughter. She recently finished a book, Becoming Aaralyn, and is looking for a publisher, a search she thinks will lead to Europe. Accuracy and availability may vary. MARTIN: How many siblings do you believe were abused by your father? James Bevel, Activist, and Minister born - African American Registry He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1984, served as Lyndon LaRouches running mate in the 1992 U.S. presidential election, and helped organize the Million Man March in 1995. In the 1960s, Bevel was a leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student. [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. Kennedy's staff, who already were drafted one, came to an agreement on its contents with SCLC's leadership. Bevel also attended workshops at the Highlander Folk School taught by its founder, Myles Horton, who emphasized grassroots organizing. [citation needed]. Nonetheless, Dr. King relied on his counsel. Because the executor of Bevel's estate had not sought to prosecute the appeal, the Court affirmed the dismissal of his appeal as moot. Martin Luther King Jr. and a legendary leader of the student sit-in and Freedom Ride movements. And I realized that, one, that it wasn't just you know, one way to live. Lela Mae Bevel Obituary 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 was a Black Civil rights activist and minister. His education: American Baptist College (1957-1961). King asked Bevel to refrain from recruiting students, and Bevel instead said that he would organize the children to march to Washington D.C. to meet with Kennedy about segregation, and King agreed. Ms. MILLS: It was actually, as in the article, I was actually watching a Oprah show and it was - the difference in this, was there was a little girl. She. 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. There are other ways to live, and you could choose how you wanted to live your life. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. James Bevel, was an icon of the civil-rights movement who worked closely with the Rev. ", "I don't believe he was a monster. She wrote a remarkable series of articles that told his story as well as her own. "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. During his childhood years, he resided in both Itta Bena and in Cleveland, Ohio working as a plantation laborer in the . And I didn't say anything to them, mainly because they knew - because they had either witnessed it or I'd witness them doing behavior. Bevel proposed organizing the Alabama Voting Rights Project, and co-wrote the project proposal with his wife Diane Nash. That was very hard for me. [13] In 1986, Bevel, Chicago alderman Danny K. Davis, singer-songwriter Kristin Lems, and others participated in a project of creating a summit in Chicago for Gorbachev and Reagan to bring peace and resolution to the ongoing Cold War. In 1968, Mr. Bevel was at the Memphis motel where Dr. King was assassinated, and in a bizarre post-mortem, he claimed that the man who was arrested for (and later convicted of) the shooting, James Earl Ray, was not the killer and that he had evidence which he declined to reveal that Mr. Ray was innocent. And I'd never see my brothers and sisters again. James L. Bevel, an adviser to the Rev. I've never known him to be a liar. It's back! 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. [28][29], Bevel moved to Omaha, Nebraska, in November 1990 as the leader of the "Citizens Fact-Finding Commission to Investigate Human Rights Violations of Children in Nebraska", a group organized by the Schiller Institute. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. And my sisters and my brothers also, you know, because my brothers were also stood behind us 100 percent and said, you know we have to do something. Particularly by somebody who portrays himself as a freedom fighter, as a person who's fighting for human dignity. Bevel was born in 1936 in Itta Bena, Mississippi, the son of Illie and Dennis Bevel. Bevel was convicted of incest in April 2008. Bevel selected the student teams for the buses. Copyright 2008 NPR. The Rev. James L. Bevel dies at 72; civil rights activist and top While a seminarian, he participated in two forms of nonviolent protest against institutionalized racial segregation: sit-ins by African American youths at department-store lunch counters in 1960 and the Freedom Rides on bus lines throughout the South in 1961. But before the Poor People's campaign occurred, King and the SCLC organizers traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, to organize a march in support of a sanitation strike after King's and James Lawson's first march had turned into a riot. American civil rights leader and politician, American comedian and civil rights activist. Virginia was No. He was one of seventeen children. It happened in the Memphis area when she staying with her father while her mother was out of town. Three months after the March on Washington, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson ascended to the Oval Office. After a stint in the services, Bevel was called to the ministry and enrolled in the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee. 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. How do we look at this country with these two dynamics? Please subscribe to keep reading. During that 90-minute call, Bevel's daughter asked him why he had sex with her the one time in 1993, and she asked him why he wanted her to use a vaginal douche afterward. 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. Ms. MILLS: And it's an hour and a half of him explaining his position. Having background is important to get the whole picture. And I wanted so much for him, not just to be a grandfather for grandfather's sake, but for him to find healing in himself and to come to some peace in himself so that he could be a grandfather and father. In 1965 SCLC gave its highest honor, the Rosa Parks Award, to James Bevel and Diane Nash for their work on the Alabama Voting Rights Project. 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 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. 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. Thank you so much for speaking with us. "I am equally devastated and disgusted by his pedophilia.". After serving seven months, he was freed awaiting an appeal; he died of pancreatic cancer in December 2008 and was buried in Eutaw, Alabama . James Bevel. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Sentencing guidelines called for probation only. This rally was attended by tens of thousands of peace activists who followed the growing counterculture movement. She got inspiration for her cause from her father's funeral, especially from one song that was a civil-rights standard, "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round." They moved to Alabama to implement the project along with Birmingham student activist James Orange. James Bevel - Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia 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. Almost 1,000 students were arrested on the first day. And I know that good can win.. Ms. MILLS: I haven't spoken to him since the trial. [13] While at seminary, Bevel reread Leo Tolstoy's 1894 book The Kingdom of God Is Within You, which had previously inspired his decision to leave the military. At the sentencing hearing, the victims said they were hoping that Bevel would apologize for his actions and seek forgiveness and reconciliation. 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. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Luther-Bevel, African American Registry - Biography of James Bevel, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Global Freedom Struggle - Biography of James Luther Bevel. As Dr. Martin Luther King's collaborator, Bevel was a key strategist of the Southern Civil Rights Movement. 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. The street lights were turned off by Alabama State Troopers who attacked the protesters. LaRouche, characterized as a perennial candidate, was serving a prison sentence for mail fraud and tax evasion. Enoch Bevel Spring 2010. Ms. MILLS: Well first of all, I had that feeling, too, that I didn't want to touch it, that I have moved on with my life. 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. Hoffman also questioned why the daughter returned to voluntarily live with her father after the alleged incest. And actually during the trial he came out of the court room and he had met my daughter. James Bevel, one of the architects of the civil rights movement, a chief lieutenant to Dr. Martin Luther King, was also a child molester. Social services would have taken custody of Orrin and her siblings if they pressed charges, Orrin said her mother told her. Recently, Mills shared her story in the Washington Post Magazine, and she joins us now. 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. Omissions? [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. In late 1963 Bevel, Nash, and Orange also worked with local grassroots organizations to educate blacks and support them in trying to gain registration as voters, but made little progress. The biracial daughters of Reverend James Bevel, an influential sit-in leader and protest organizer, bemoan their absentee father, a civil rights "Daddy Dearest" who "speaks in political theory all the time" and lambastes interracial relationships. Her father, the Rev. Will YouTube dim the fire of preachers to the powerful. He worked on a cotton plantation for a time as a youth and later in a steel mill. James Bevel, a key aide to Rev. But he was also a child predator, who exploited the trust of his family by molesting his daughter Aaralyn Mills. Who's watching their backs? He freed his people, focused the world's attention on peace, and used Mohandas Gandhi's tactics to change America . Faithful to My Father's Dream. And I think, all of us were abused in some way or another. You can cancel at any time. Anyone can read what you share. Although Bevel initially intended to pursue a recording career, he felt called to Christian ministry. Im very proud to be the daughter of a man who contributed so much to the world through his civil rights work, one of his daughters, Chevarra Orrin, of Winston-Salem, N.C., told The Associated Press. 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 Bevel had 16 children with nine women. I wanted to ask why you decided that now was the time to tell it. Bevel testified during Wednesday's hearing that he was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that has spread to his liver. [39] Bevel's attorney appealed the denial of the abatement motion to the Supreme Court of Virginia. Though not a lawyer, Mr. Bevel offered to represent Mr. Ray in court. We will have a link to it on our website. In September 1963, a bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham killed four young girls attending Sunday School and damaged the church. To fight those feelings, she decided to track down her attacker. And it's something I had the support of so many people to do, up until 2004. James Luther Bevel (October 19, 1936 December 19, 2008) was a minister and leader of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement in the United States. [13] SCLC's remaining Board of Directors removed Bevel from his leadership positions in 1969. How should we think about those two James Bevels? During the trial, Bevel's daughter testified that she was repeatedly molested by Bevel beginning when she was just 6 years old, culminating in sexual intercourse in 1993 or 1994 that formed the basis of the incest charge. James Luther Bevel, one of 17 children, was born on Oct 19, 1936, in Itta Bena, in central Mississippi, and divided his childhood between there and Cleveland, where he worked in the steel mills as a teenager. The two agreed to work together to end segregation, obtain voting rights, and to ensure quality education for ALL children in America. Bevel was later instrumental in organizing the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., an event that was credited with helping to usher in the Voting Rights Act (1965). But she wanted Athena with her: I refuse to let my daughter live without what I so desperately needed: stability, happiness, home., To that end, Liese works three jobs. It doesn't necessarily make sense. 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. 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. James Bevel - Wikipedia "My hope was for him to apologize in a Christian way, to repent. During his trial, testimony indicated that Bevel considered it parents' duty to "sexually orient" their children. Court testimony revealed that accusation had stemmed from a family reunion during which several family members recalled having been molested by Mr. Bevel. She spoke out about her abuse to protect a younger sister. Market data provided by Factset. All rights reserved. This information, his behavior in now also part of history. So, I didn't feel that it was wrong. This movement ended within a Summit Conference that included Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. And being there for two years, I was saturated in the environment where family values and just you know, I grew up where there was a lot of talked about love and peace, and happiness, and family values. Bevel's daughter testified that she was repeatedly molested by Bevel beginning when she was just 6 years old, culminating in an act of sexual intercourse in 1993 or 1994 that formed the basis of the incest charge. Aaralyn Mills, good luck to you. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Though initially reluctant, Dr. King finally agreed. 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.