Remembering those we recently lost
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Key moments and achievements from Bernard Lafayette Jr.'s life.
Bernard was born
· Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Community
As a student at American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, where his roommate was future Congressman John Lewis, Lafayette participated in the historic Nashville sit-in movement to desegregate lunch counters and department stores. Trained in nonviolent resistance by Rev. James Lawson, who had studied Gandhi's methods in India, Lafayette became a central figure in the city's civil rights struggle.
Community
As a student at American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, where his roommate was future Congressman John Lewis, Lafayette participated in the historic Nashville sit-in movement to desegregate lunch counters and department stores. Trained in nonviolent resistance by Rev. James Lawson, who had studied Gandhi's methods in India, Lafayette became a central figure in the city's civil rights struggle.
Founded Organization
Lafayette was among the young civil rights activists who co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), one of the most important organizations of the American civil rights movement. SNCC would play a pivotal role in sit-ins, Freedom Rides, voter registration drives, and other direct-action campaigns throughout the 1960s.
Founded Organization
Lafayette was among the young civil rights activists who co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), one of the most important organizations of the American civil rights movement. SNCC would play a pivotal role in sit-ins, Freedom Rides, voter registration drives, and other direct-action campaigns throughout the 1960s.
Community
In May 1961, Lafayette joined the Freedom Rides challenging segregation on interstate buses. In Montgomery, Alabama, the riders were met by an angry white mob and Ku Klux Klan members and were viciously attacked. During his participation in civil rights activities, Lafayette was beaten and arrested 27 times, demonstrating extraordinary physical courage and commitment to nonviolent resistance.
Community
In May 1961, Lafayette joined the Freedom Rides challenging segregation on interstate buses. In Montgomery, Alabama, the riders were met by an angry white mob and Ku Klux Klan members and were viciously attacked. During his participation in civil rights activities, Lafayette was beaten and arrested 27 times, demonstrating extraordinary physical courage and commitment to nonviolent resistance.
Community
In February 1963, Lafayette accepted a SNCC position to conduct organizing work in Selma, Alabama, alongside his wife Colia Liddell Lafayette. His groundbreaking voter registration work in Selma, one of the most dangerous and segregated cities in the South, helped lay the foundation for the Selma-to-Montgomery marches and the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Community
In February 1963, Lafayette accepted a SNCC position to conduct organizing work in Selma, Alabama, alongside his wife Colia Liddell Lafayette. His groundbreaking voter registration work in Selma, one of the most dangerous and segregated cities in the South, helped lay the foundation for the Selma-to-Montgomery marches and the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Career Achievement
Lafayette served as national coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Poor People's Campaign, working directly with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on what would be King's final major initiative before his assassination. The campaign sought to address poverty and economic inequality affecting Americans of all races across the country.
Career Achievement
Lafayette served as national coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Poor People's Campaign, working directly with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on what would be King's final major initiative before his assassination. The campaign sought to address poverty and economic inequality affecting Americans of all races across the country.
Career Achievement
From 1992 to 1999, Lafayette returned to American Baptist College, the seminary where he had begun his civil rights journey as a young student, to serve as the school's president. During this period he also served as pastor of Progressive Baptist Church in Nashville, combining educational leadership with pastoral ministry in the city where his activism began.
Career Achievement
From 1992 to 1999, Lafayette returned to American Baptist College, the seminary where he had begun his civil rights journey as a young student, to serve as the school's president. During this period he also served as pastor of Progressive Baptist Church in Nashville, combining educational leadership with pastoral ministry in the city where his activism began.
Founded Organization
Lafayette founded the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island, dedicating himself to teaching the principles and strategies of nonviolent social change to new generations. The center became a hub for training activists, educators, and community leaders in the same nonviolent techniques that had powered the civil rights movement.
Founded Organization
Lafayette founded the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island, dedicating himself to teaching the principles and strategies of nonviolent social change to new generations. The center became a hub for training activists, educators, and community leaders in the same nonviolent techniques that had powered the civil rights movement.
Won Award
In 2019, Lafayette was honored with the Coretta Scott King Legacy Award, recognizing his lifetime of service to the cause of civil rights and nonviolent social change. The award, named for the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., honored Lafayette's decades-long commitment to the principles of nonviolence that he had first embraced as a young seminary student in Nashville.
Won Award
In 2019, Lafayette was honored with the Coretta Scott King Legacy Award, recognizing his lifetime of service to the cause of civil rights and nonviolent social change. The award, named for the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., honored Lafayette's decades-long commitment to the principles of nonviolence that he had first embraced as a young seminary student in Nashville.
Bernard Lafayette Jr. passed away
