Trending Now - Civil Rights Pioneer Bernard Lafayette Dies at 85

WHO:

Bernard LaFayette, civil rights leader and voting rights organizer

Bernard LaFayette, III, son of Bernard LaFayette

John Lewis, future congressman and civil rights leader

Colia Liddell, former wife of Bernard LaFayette

President Lyndon Johnson, U.S. President who introduced the Voting Rights Act

Barack Obama, former U.S. President who spoke about LaFayette and Lewis

Andrew Young, civil rights leader who worked with LaFayette

Mary Lou Finley, professor emeritus at Antioch University Seattle

DeMark Liggins, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

WHAT:

Bernard LaFayette died on March 5, 2026, of a heart attack at the age of 85.

LaFayette was instrumental in the voter registration campaign in Selma, Alabama, leading to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

He was named director of the Alabama Voter Registration Campaign in 1963.

LaFayette participated in the Freedom Rides in 1961, was beaten in Montgomery, Alabama, and arrested in Jackson, Mississippi.

He trained Black youth to become leaders in the Chicago Freedom Movement and helped organize tenant unions.

LaFayette was the national coordinator of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Poor People's Campaign in 1968.

He earned a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, and a doctorate from Harvard University.

LaFayette organized high school students to screen toddlers for lead poisoning in Chicago.

WHERE:

Selma, Alabama

Chicago, Illinois

Tampa, Florida

Nashville, Tennessee (American Baptist Theological Seminary, now American Baptist College)

Lorraine Motel, Memphis, Tennessee

WHEN:

Died on March 5, 2026

March 7, 1965: "Bloody Sunday" incident on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge

1960: Founding of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

1963: LaFayette became director of the Alabama Voter Registration Campaign

1961: LaFayette participated in the Freedom Rides

1968: LaFayette was the national coordinator of the Poor People's Campaign

2013: LaFayette published his memoir, "In Peace and Freedom: My Journey in Selma"

2020: Barack Obama spoke about LaFayette and Lewis in a eulogy after Lewis's death

WHY:

LaFayette aimed to build leadership capacity among local people in Selma and create momentum for change.

He was motivated by personal experiences of racial injustice, including an incident from his childhood when he witnessed his grandmother fall while trying to board a trolley.

HOW:

LaFayette organized voter registration campaigns and trained local leaders.

He employed nonviolent methods in civil rights activism, emphasizing the importance of winning over opponents through understanding and compassion.

He arranged transport for participants from Chicago to Alabama for the Selma-to-Montgomery march after the initial march was halted.

Bernard LaFayette, a pivotal civil rights leader and organizer of the voter registration campaign in Selma, Alabama, passed away on March 5, 2026, at the age of 85 due to a heart attack. LaFayette played a crucial role in the events leading to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, participating in the Freedom Rides and serving as the national coordinator for Martin Luther King Jr.'s Poor People's Campaign. Throughout his life, he dedicated himself to empowering local communities and training future leaders, leaving a lasting impact on the civil rights movement.