I wanted to ask why you decided that now was the time to tell it. Bevel never submitted the collected petitions and left the state the following summer. 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. MARTIN: You confronted your father at one point. 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. But, you know, I was sad because I knew that he wouldn't be a grandfather. She recently finished a book, Becoming Aaralyn, and is looking for a publisher, a search she thinks will lead to Europe. Bevel was born on October 19, 1936 in Itta Bena, Mississippi. During his trial, testimony indicated that Bevel considered it parents' duty to "sexually orient" their children. Even before the final march occurred, President Lyndon Johnson had gone on national television to address a joint session of Congress, appealing for passage of his administration-backed comprehensive Voting Rights Act. James Bevel, a civil rights leader and close associate of Martin Luther King Jr.s, being sentenced to 15 years in prison for unlawful fornication. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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. 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. A young man, he died a few days later. Kennedy's staff, who already were drafted one, came to an agreement on its contents with SCLC's leadership. She filed for divorce in 2010 and fought to share custody of Athena. *James Bevel was born on this date in 1936. 'You dont like to work on anything that isnt your own idea,' King said, 'Bevel, I think you owe me one.'"[22]. The Rev. And I was always buffering between my father, I never let her be alone with him. Enoch Bevel Spring 2010. His bond was revoked and he was taken into custody. 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 single count of incest. Who can they turn to? Legal Statement. Martin Luther King Jr., the head of the SCLC. He was a Black Civil rights activist and minister. 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. Soon after, another three daughters said he had sexually abused them as . Orrin said she too was molested by her father when she was a child. Ms. MILLS: I don't, I don't think he's mentally ill. The Rev. Bevel was born in 1936 in Itta Bena, Mississippi, the son of Illie and Dennis Bevel. He initiated the 1967 March on the United Nations as part of the anti-war movement. The daughter testified that she went back because she had nowhere else to go. She wants to help them by starting a monthly support group, WhiteSpace SafeSpace, that will meet at her gallery. Corrections? The news coverage, which featured children being water-hosed by police and more than 600 youth being arrested, prompted a groundswell of support for the civil rights movement. He and the others were arrested after they arrived in Jackson, Mississippi and tried to desegregate the waiting rooms in the bus terminal. [13] Six weeks later he died of cancer, at the age of 72, in Springfield, Virginia. Ms. MILLS: I haven't spoken to him since the trial. 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. How do we look at this country with these two dynamics? or redistributed. Particularly by somebody who portrays himself as a freedom fighter, as a person who's fighting for human dignity. Naval Reserve in 1954 and 1955 before entering the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee. But he was also a child predator, who exploited the trust of his family by molesting his daughter Aaralyn Mills. 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. LEESBURG, Va. A jury on Thursday convicted an iconic figure in the civil rights movement of incest, after concluding that he had sex with his teenage daughter 15 years ago. I don't want to live that anymore. Bevel was born in Itta Bena, Mississippi, on 19 October 1936. [17] Activists encountered severe violence at that time and retreated to regroup. It doesn't necessarily make sense. That's a playboy talking to a prostitute," Bevel said on the witness stand shortly before he was sentenced. And we'll decide what to do as a family. On April 10, 2008, after a three-hour deliberation, the jury found Bevel guilty, his bond was revoked, and he was taken into custody. Aaralyn Mills, good luck to you. You know, so it was just - it was like, why? Mr. Bevel was Mr. LaRouches running mate in 1992, a time when Mr. LaRouche was serving time for fraud and tax evasion. How much you describe it? James L. Bevel, 71, an 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 single . Ms. AARALYN MILLS (Abuse Victim): Thank you for having me. Do you have any idea where you were able to find that within yourself to do this? Legal Statement. MARTIN: Some people would call it intervention. 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). James Bevel was one of the key strategists of the civil rights movement. In the melee, Jackson was shot in the stomach while defending his mother from an attack. He worked on a cotton plantation for a time as a youth and later in a steel mill. "I am equally devastated and disgusted by his pedophilia.". He was convicted earlier this year of having sex 15 years ago with his then-teenage daughter in Virginia. John Railey writes local editorials for the Journal. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Bevel also read several of Mohandas Gandhi's books and newspapers while taking off-campus workshops on Gandhi's philosophy and nonviolent techniques taught by James Lawson of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. James Bevel. Sherrilynn is also estranged from her brother and from both of her adult children. One of his daughters, Aaralyn Mills, accused Bevel of molesting her as a child and having sex with her once in the 1990s, when she was a teenager. ", "I don't believe he was a monster. I mean my little sister was 14 at that time, but what if you know - what can you really do? 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. And you describe this - I don't know what words to use, it's almost like a trial at - so you decided you should put him on trial, and then he defended himself in this, I don't even really know how to describe it. 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. And we have to find a way, because they exist. Liese also shares custody of an 11-year-old son with her first husband, with whom the boy lives. He also is the man who persuaded . [citation needed] During his speech to the crowd that day, Bevel called for a larger march in Washington D.C., a plan that evolved into the October 1967 March on the Pentagon. His brother - and we were all present, either on the phone or live. They divorced after seven years. "I'm very proud to be the daughter of a man who contributed so much to the world through his civil-rights work," she told The Associated Press on Dec. 19, the day her father died at the age of 72. Blake excels at uncovering the questions gnawing at his subjects. One of the things you said to me was that the healing growth and happiness that my family and I experienced need to be shared. After serving seven months, he was freed awaiting an appeal; he died of pancreatic cancer in December 2008 and was buried in Eutaw, Alabama. This defendant should die in jail.". Bevel selected the student teams for the buses. How many of your sisters? No one wants the government in their home. I mean, I remember being afraid of being taken from my home, you know that that was an option that I could be leaved and I would have to stay at a foster home, and I had these horrible images that foster homes would be worse. All rights reserved. His education: American Baptist College (1957-1961). That really made me feel not just powerless but that, what can you do? She said that "his thought process was this worldwide movement was for us.". Less than a month after his sentencing in October 2008, Bevel was released from prison on appeal. 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. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability may vary. In 2007, one of his daughters accused him of molesting her in the 90s. Bevel also attended workshops at the Highlander Folk School taught by its founder, Myles Horton, who emphasized grassroots organizing. He is a celebrity civil rights leader. He was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. They agreed to work until they had ended segregation, obtained voting rights, and ensured that all American children had a quality education. In 1962 Bevel met with Rev. MARTIN: Have you spoken to your father since the trial? 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. And I realized that, one, that it wasn't just you know, one way to live. 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. 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. [37] On October 15, 2008, the judge sentenced him, based on the jury's recommendation, to 15 years in prison and fined him $50,000. Do you see it that way? The daughter is one of at least 14 children Bevel has with several different women, according to her testimony on Monday. Bevel had 16 children with nine women. "[33] When Bevel introduced LaRouche at a convention of the 1996 National African American Leadership Summit, both men were booed off the stage. He said his family mistakenly perceived his refusal to deny the specific allegations against him as an admission of guilt. But this was the meeting in which we called other members of the community, Bernard Layfette and Will Sanders and as well as relatives. We are not just, you know, one way all the time. 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. Orrin, a 40-year-old mother, has spent most of her life trying to reconcile her feelings about her father.
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