FR OM T H E CH AI R M AN
Chairman’s Corner
UNITY AND SUSTAINABILITY Calling on the Past for Methods of Strategic Activism By Dr. Bernard Lafayette Jr., SCLC Chairman Written by Davynn Brown
Civil Rights history was alive and well as I sat down with Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr., a civil rights leader with a long history of dedication to activism. Dr. LaFayette was appointed National Program Administrator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and National Coordinator of the Poor Peoples’ Campaign by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He Co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee(SNCC) and directed the Alabama Voter Registration Project. In sum, Dr. LaFayette has spent his life crafting strategies for impactful activism. As we began our conversation, Dr. LaFayette shared that a fellow Freedom Rider, Ernest ‘Rip’ Patton had recently passed. Dr. LaFayette was preparing to give a speech at the Homegoing Service of his long-time friend. Dr. LaFayette recounted Ernest Patton’s legacy as a Freedom Rider who was imprisoned in Mississippi. Although Patton was a lifelong activist, Dr. LaFayette most fondly remembered his talent as a singer and musician. Patton was 81, and Dr. LaFayette just celebrated his 81st birthday. These legends dedicated their lives to envisioning and orchestrating the movements that shaped the world that we grow and thrive in today. It fills me with joy to know that they have witnessed the fruit of their labor. As younger generations continue the fight today for equal rights and justice worldwide, a social justice arch has been created. Dr. LaFayette shared some key gems that he learned from developing activism strategies during the Freedom Rides, Sit-Ins, and the Civil Rights Movement at large. BUILD COALITIONSDr. LaFayette’s first piece of advice is to continue the use of coalitions. These are groups focused on one issue that form an umbrella under which multiple organizations with converging causes can come together. Dr. LaFayette recalls Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s use of coalitions, specifically for the March on Washington. “Building coalitions was one of the most important things that King did and something that made him different. The March on Washington brought together leaders from different groups. Everyone had their own causes as an organization, but they didn’t necessarily come together. Dr. King felt like you didn’t have to agree on everything, but if you found those things that you do agree on you should come together and show the unity.” Dr. LaFayette explained that Dr. King
SCLC National Magazine/ Fall 2021 Issue
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