And then also for us to go together, because we didn't grow up together. And then things I never understood as parents. A top lieutenant to Martin Luther King Jr. has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for incest. Thank you so much for speaking with us. This rally was attended by tens of thousands of peace activists who followed the growing counterculture movement. A young man, he died a few days later. 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. "People don't just wake up one morning and stop being a pedophile," Orrin said. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Although Bevel initially intended to pursue a recording career, he felt called to Christian ministry. [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. 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. 4. 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. MARTIN: I mean you were a very young girl when the abuse started. The accuser, one of his daughters, was 13-15 years old and lived with him in the Leesburg apartment. Do you think that's what it was? American civil rights leader and politician, American comedian and civil rights activist. After a stint in the services, Bevel was called to the ministry and enrolled in the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee. He was tried in April 2008, convicted of incest, sentenced to 15 years in prison, [11] and fined $50,000. A deathbed interview with Rev. And I am wondering how it is that you and your siblings, you particularly, were able to do it. I wrote her I love you letters, and you know, this was my day letters. That's not to excuse the extremes in which people go, but it's the understanding. Less than a month after his sentencing in October 2008, Bevel was released from prison on appeal. The Rev. King wanted to fill the jails with protesters, but it was becoming more difficult to find adults to march. 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. [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. "There is something that reeks of moral depravity when an individual, whose sworn responsibility is to protect and serve and is fired for what. James Luther Bevel, (born Oct. 19, 1936, Itta Bena, Miss., U.S.died Dec. 19, 2008, Springfield, Va.), American minister and political activist who played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement in the early 1960s. This was financially backed by the Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon, which appeared to be trying to improve its controversial image by allying with such respected leaders. I had no idea that it happened to anyone but me including my other sisters. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Almost 1,000 students were arrested on the first day. And what really helped me was the fact that I had such a support system. Hoping for him 'to repent'Bevel's daughter, Aaralyn Mills, testified about the conflicting feelings she has had as she pursued the case against her father, a man that she said she still loves and respects in many aspects. In 1966, Bevel chose Chicago as the site of SCLC's long-awaited Northern Campaign. Ms. MILLS: There are eight girls. Bevel, 72, died Friday in Virginia after a fight with pancreatic cancer, said a daughter, Chevara Orrin, who lives in Winston-Salem, N.C. Much of it was revealed during a 2008 trial that ended with her father, the Rev. It was later proven that a Ku Klux Klan chapter was responsible. That it's supposed to be only for procreation, and you have to be forced to see that, just like you have to be forced to accept nonviolence by getting beaten. James L. Bevel, 71, a top . Judge Frank Johnson approved a public march. He appeared headed for a career as a pop music singer he had signed a contract with a record label when he felt called to the ministry and enrolled in the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, where he joined the local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. 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. (Rebecca Drobis/COPYRIGHT REBECCA DROBIS 2008). And I never understood that. MARTIN: Have you spoken to your father since the trial? Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. And I know that good can win.. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Aaralyn Mills, good luck to you. And I think the hardest part is not choosing a side to work toward and sticking to it. From the Helen L. Bevel Archives, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Bevel&oldid=1146647965, Statements by Rev. During the call he explains the importance of teaching his daughter "the science of marriage" and admits that he did not want her to get pregnant after the incident. You had moved on with your life, but there was another young girl, another child he had had through a subsequent marriage. He was 72. Ms. MILLS: And it's an hour and a half of him explaining his position. Weeks of demonstrations and marches resulted in King, Ralph Abernathy, and Shuttlesworth being arrested and jailed. So, I didn't feel that it was wrong. The daughter is one of 16 children Bevel said he has had with several different women. Court testimony revealed that accusation had stemmed from a family reunion during which several family members recalled having been molested by Mr. Bevel. 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 . And he usually - he played the role of judge and jury in these meetings. The daughter is one of at least 14 children Bevel has with several different women, according to her testimony on Monday. And I would always tell her the things that he did to me and what he would say if he got a chance to do it to her. Bevel proposed organizing the Alabama Voting Rights Project, and co-wrote the project proposal with his wife Diane Nash. We have great country we live in that had slavery. 'You dont like to work on anything that isnt your own idea,' King said, 'Bevel, I think you owe me one.'"[22]. 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He entered the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville in 1957; he graduated and was ordained 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Ms. MILLS: Right, because I always wrote letters. I don't want to relive any of that. On April 10, 2008, after a three-hour deliberation, the jury found Bevel guilty, his bond was revoked, and he was taken into custody. MARTIN: If you are just joining us, I'm speaking with Aaralyn Mills. Things we often feel we have to keep hidden. 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. But, you know, I was sad because I knew that he wouldn't be a grandfather. James Bevel, a key aide to Rev. Having background is important to get the whole picture. After high school he served in the U.S. Navy for a time and pursued a career as a singer. Enoch Bevel Spring 2010. . Sherrilynn is also estranged from her brother and from both of her adult children. 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. The street lights were turned off by Alabama State Troopers who attacked the protesters. 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). He was recently released on bond while appealing a 15-year. And so I chose a very difficult conversation we had in June with a daughter of civil rights strategist James Bevel. [15] Diane Nash, the Nashville Student Movement's chairman, urged the group to continue the Freedom Rides, and called for college volunteers from Fisk and other universities across the South. She married James Henry Bevel in Corpus Christi on January 27, 1956. And know that it could come back to them pretty harsh. His l. The Associated Press generally does not identify the victims of sexual abuse. Recently, Mills shared her story in the Washington Post Magazine, and she joins us now. 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. "I am equally devastated and disgusted by his pedophilia.". He was recently released on bond while appealing a. 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. Bevel died Friday in Virginia. 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. 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. 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. [12] He was one of 17 children and grew up in rural LeFlore County of the Mississippi Delta and in Cleveland, Ohio. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. That was our hope, but he wasn't ready to look at himself. In the 1960s, Bevel was a leader in the Southern Christian Leadership. They, Nash, and others stayed in Mississippi to work on grassroots organizing. Its so amazing it doesnt matter if its yours or not. [9] As the first march reached the end of the Edmund Pettus Bridge and passed out of the city, they were attacked by county police and Alabama State Troopers. James L. Bevel, a prominent figure in the civil rights movement whose legacy was clouded by an incest conviction has died, a relative said. 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. 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. At that meeting, which had been suggested by James Lawson, Bevel and King agreed to work together on an equal basis, with neither having veto power over the other, on projects under the auspices of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). This was followed by a number of erratic-seeming episodes in his life. She could not share it. The Court of Appeals affirmed this judgment. He was tried in April 2008, convicted of incest, sentenced to 15 years in prison,[11] and fined $50,000. [36], On April 10, 2008, after a three-hour deliberation, the jury convicted Bevel of incest. James L. Bevel dies at 72; civil rights activist and top lieutenant to King", "Bevel v. Commonwealth (Va.Ct.App., 14 Sept. 2010)", "Bevel v. Commonwealth (Va.S.Ct., 4 Nov. 2011)", "Years After Change, Activist Lives Her Conviction", "Common Is James Bevel, Andre Holland Is Andrew Young In Ava DuVernay's Mlk Tale 'Selma', (see request for download at bottom of page). There are other ways to live, and you could choose how you wanted to live your life. He worked on a cotton plantation for a time as a youth and later in a steel mill. 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. "My hope was for him to apologize in a Christian way, to repent. She said that her mother, who is white, told her that no one would have believed them. How do we look at this country with these two dynamics? *James Bevel was born on this date in 1936. Who's watching their backs? On February 16, 1965, Jimmie Lee Jackson, his mother, and grandfather took part in a nighttime march led by C. T. Vivian to protest the related jailing of activist James Orange in Marion, Alabama.
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