"At the end of the day, they're still our fathers, our mothers, our uncles and aunts and brothers and sisters," she said. [5] Together the groups became collectively known as the Selma Voting Rights Movement, with James Bevel as its director. 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. Bevel died Friday in Virginia after a fight with pancreatic cancer, said a daughter, Chevara Orrin, who lives in Winston-Salem, N.C. In the phone call between Bevel and his daughter, Bevel never made an explicit admission that he had sexual intercourse with his daughter. A jury yesterday convicted an iconic figure in the civil rights movement of incest, after concluding that he had sex with his teenage daughter 15 years ago. And so, I had moved on and I had felt that my father perhaps - like it was my fault. Practices such as requiring payment of poll taxes and literacy tests administered in a discriminatory way by white officials maintained the exclusion of blacks from the political system in the 1960s. SNCC Chairman John Lewis and Amelia Boynton were both injured. 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. James Luther Bevel (October 19, 1936 December 19, 2008) was a minister and leader of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement in the United States. 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. 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. MARTIN: Your story was very painful to read. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. As an adult, Orrin asked her father why he had not provided for his children. He was recently released on bond while appealing a. In 2005, Bevel was accused of incest by one of his daughters and abuse by three others. The judge . "Everyone dies. James Bevel, a key aide to Rev. And we'll decide what to do as a family. He doesn't understand the whole dynamics of what's going on now. Another daughter, Sherilynn Bevel, confirmed the death, The Washington Post reported. [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. He was recently released on bond while appealing a . But he was also a child predator, who exploited the trust of his family by molesting his daughter Aaralyn Mills. A fight broke out between LaRouche supporters and black nationalists.[34]. And when she told me that everything I told her about what's happening as I was telling her that really hurt me. What if that does happen? Eventually, her former husband agreed. 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. Bevel testified during Wednesday's hearing that he was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that has spread to his liver. He joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. 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. Three months after the March on Washington, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson ascended to the Oval Office. Mr. Bevel had been released from prison in November because he had pancreatic cancer. MARTIN: Sounds like you would have made a hell of an organizer? 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. How did she react? 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. I'm Michel Martin, and this is tell me more from NPR News. MARTIN: So in his world, he decides what true and not true. We'll talk about that in just a few minutes. 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. From previous discussions with King, and from work of American Friends Service Committee activist Bill Moyer, Bevel organized, and directed the Chicago open housing movement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. One of the reasons you pressed charges and it was decided that you would press charges is it's the statute of limitations in Virginia which is where this acts took place allowed him to be prosecuted. The Rev. In 1966, Bevel chose Chicago as the site of SCLC's long-awaited Northern Campaign. ", "I don't believe he was a monster. This information, his behavior in now also part of history. As Dr. Martin Luther King's collaborator, Bevel was a key strategist of the Southern Civil Rights Movement. The 15-year sentence imposed by Circuit Judge Burke McCahill was the most severe allowed. Daughter reconciles conflicting images of famous father. 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. James L. Bevel, a prominent figure in the civil rights movement whose legacy was clouded by an incest conviction has died, a relative said. Ms. AARALYN MILLS (Abuse Victim): Thank you for having me. Housing in the area was segregated in a de facto way, enforced by covenants and real estate practices. James Bevel - Wikipedia Market data provided by Factset. [40], In 1961, Bevel married activist Diane Nash after he completed his seminary studies. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. How many of your sisters? The trial court found that abating the conviction would deny the victim the closure that she sought and denied the motion to abate. [17] Activists encountered severe violence at that time and retreated to regroup. Thank you so much for speaking with us. 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. Bevel spent weeks developing strategy, recruiting and educating students in the philosophy and techniques of nonviolence. James L. Bevel, 72, an Adviser to Dr. King, Is Dead Chris Kaiser bought a kit and built a grain silo thinking he would use it for storage. Charismatic and eloquently quick-witted in a vernacular style, Mr. Bevel was known as a man of passion and peculiarity. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. "[33] When Bevel introduced LaRouche at a convention of the 1996 National African American Leadership Summit, both men were booed off the stage. In spite of everything, I was a happy kid, resilient, she says. 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. Bevel was born in Itta Bena, Mississippi, on 19 October 1936. [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. James Bevel, Activist, and Minister born - African American Registry [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. 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. 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. His contention that convicted assassin James Earl Ray was not guilty of Kings murder embarrassed many in the movement. Rights leader sentenced to 15 years for incest (Rebecca Drobis/COPYRIGHT REBECCA DROBIS 2008). So, I didn't feel that it was wrong. Related Videos Bloody Sunday (TV-14; 4:10) 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. 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 Bevel. MARTIN: How did you become aware that this was wrong? I had no idea that it happened to anyone but me including my other sisters. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. And I know that good can win.. Anyone can read what you share. So, we can assess it based on the truth or the facts in the matter and not just conspiracy as my father had called. In this same period, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) had organized the 1961 Freedom Rides through the Deep South to challenge southern state laws and practices that interstate buses and their facilities remain segregated despite federal laws for equal treatment. Ms. MILLS: I don't, I don't think he's mentally ill. What saddened Orrin was that speakers at the five-hour funeral danced around the fact that Bevel had been convicted just this past spring of molesting one of his daughters in the 1990s. MARTIN: What made you realized that it was wrong? *James Bevel was born on this date in 1936. "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. She wrote a remarkable series of articles that told his story as well as her own. [13] Virginia had no statute of limitations for the offense of incest. [39] Bevel's attorney appealed the denial of the abatement motion to the Supreme Court of Virginia. Ms. MILLS: There are eight girls. Ms. MILLS: And it's an hour and a half of him explaining his position. Do you see it that way? Ready to start "the second half of my life," after. He was educated at segregated local schools in both Mississippi and Cleveland. They were poor, and Bevel was a civil-rights giant. Ms. MILLS: I feel almost as if it's something I had to do. Bevel would not reveal the evidence, and Ray was convicted of the crime. 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. [32] He engaged in LaRouche seminars on issues including "Is the Anti Defamation League the new KKK? One way he brought attention to the brutality of Jim Crow was to bring children . He was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Bevel had hoped for probation so he could enter hospice care. James Bevel, October 19, James Bevel was an American minister and prominent civil rights activist.. James Bevel, October 19, James Bevel was an American minister and prominent civil rights activist.. . Instead, she told the jury to focus on the single incident for which Bevel is charged: an act of sexual intercourse that occurred in 1993 or 1994 while the daughter was a teenager and was living with her father in Leesburg. 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. Bevel was forced from his position in the SCLC after exhibiting erratic behaviour. Prosecutor Nicole Wittmann also warned the jury against getting confused by Bevel's sometimes convoluted explanations of his philosophies and his justifications for his actions. Reverend James Bevel's Biography - The HistoryMakers Corrections? She married James Henry Bevel in Corpus Christi on January 27, 1956. In 2005, Bevel was accused of incest by one of his daughters and abuse by three others. She said that her mother, who is white, told her that no one would have believed them. MARTIN: I think it's fair to say that you, your other siblings went through a very great deal. His l. All rights reserved. He was tried in April 2008, convicted of incest, sentenced to 15 years in prison,[11] and fined $50,000. 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. He also is the man who persuaded . 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). She recently finished a book, Becoming Aaralyn, and is looking for a publisher, a search she thinks will lead to Europe. James Bevel was one of the key strategists of the civil rights movement. Weeks of demonstrations and marches resulted in King, Ralph Abernathy, and Shuttlesworth being arrested and jailed. Bevel also attended workshops at the Highlander Folk School taught by its founder, Myles Horton, who emphasized grassroots organizing. 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). Legal Statement. 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 Biography All rights reserved. James Bevel - Bhamwiki I had a son at the time and I just had a daughter, but I just wanted to move on. [13] King was initially reluctant, but agreed. James Luther Bevel (born 1936) was a civil rights activist of the 1960s who aligned himself with Martin Luther King, Jr. James Luther Bevel was born in the farming community of Ittabena, Mississippi, on October 19, 1936. Almost 1,000 students were arrested on the first day. James L. Bevel | Encyclopedia.com 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. The Rev. Bevel and others were grieved and outraged. [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. 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. He grew up in rural LeFlore County of the Mississippi Delta and in Cleveland. He served in the U.S. He entered the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville in 1957; he graduated and was ordained in 1961. Enoch Bevel Spring 2010. That didn't happen. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. 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. 4. The Surprising Origins of #MeToo - New York Times He is a celebrity civil rights leader. 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. MARTIN: I mean you were a very young girl when the abuse started. Unable to have children of their own, the Hamers adopted two daughters. 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. Hamer was incensed by efforts to deny Blacks the right to vote. Bevel died Friday in Virginia after a fight with pancreatic cancer, said a daughter, Chevara Orrin, who lives in Winston-Salem, N.C. How should we think about those two James Bevels? Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. This defendant should die in jail.". Orrin has undergone years of counseling to deal with the abuse she said she suffered from her father. 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. James Bevel - SNCC Digital Gateway SNCC Digital Gateway He was also the largely absent father, Orrin said, who molested her one night when she was 12. And then also for us to go together, because we didn't grow up together. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Things we often feel we have to keep hidden. MARTIN: And you did try to tell your mother what was happening? James Luther Bevel | American minister and political activist "There's no excuse for his philosophy in the law, or whether he's eccentric, or whether he's an historical figure. [36], On April 10, 2008, after a three-hour deliberation, the jury convicted Bevel of incest. Judge Frank Johnson approved a public march. Bevel was in the parking lot of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis and witnessed King's assassination on April 4, 1968. In 1967, Bevel was chairman of the Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam. Orrin, a 40-year-old mother, has spent most of her life trying to reconcile her feelings about her father. So, I really felt powerless. 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. 'You dont like to work on anything that isnt your own idea,' King said, 'Bevel, I think you owe me one.'"[22]. 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. 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