Bernard LaFayette, a civil rights activist instrumental in the Selma voter registration campaign that led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, died on Thursday morning at the age of 85. His son, Bernard LaFayette III, confirmed his death was due to a heart attack.
Bernard LaFayette was a civil rights activist instrumental in the Selma voter registration campaign that led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Early Activism and Nonviolence Principles
Born in Tampa, Florida, LaFayette's commitment to civil rights was influenced by a childhood incident involving racial injustice. He attended American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, where he roomed with John Lewis.
Together, they helped lead the nonviolent civil disobedience campaign that resulted in Nashville becoming the first major Southern city to desegregate its downtown facilities. In 1960, LaFayette was part of a delegation of Nashville students who co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Alongside Lewis, he integrated a Greyhound bus by sitting in the front, challenging segregation in interstate travel.
In 1961, LaFayette participated in a Freedom Ride, dropping out of college to join efforts to enforce court rulings against segregation in the South. During this period, he was subjected to an assault in Montgomery, Alabama, and subsequently arrested in Jackson, Mississippi. He was among over 300 Freedom Riders incarcerated at Parchman Prison.
LaFayette advocated for nonviolence, viewing it as a struggle of the human spirit to win over opponents.
The Selma Campaign
Two years prior to the events of "Bloody Sunday" on March 7, 1965, LaFayette established the foundational work for the Selma movement. Despite initial assessments by SNCC that Selma, Alabama, was too challenging for organizing efforts, LaFayette insisted on focusing efforts there.
In 1963, he was appointed director of the Alabama Voter Registration Campaign and relocated to Selma with his former wife, Colia Liddell. They worked to empower local residents and build momentum for change. His work in Selma is documented in his 2013 memoir, In Peace and Freedom: My Journey in Selma.
During his organizing efforts, LaFayette faced various threats, including an assassination attempt on the same night Medgar Evers was murdered. The FBI attributed this attempt to a conspiracy targeting civil rights workers. He was assaulted outside his home and confronted with a gun. He focused on a nonviolent approach to engage his attacker, and a neighbor’s intervention with a rifle may have contributed to saving his life.
By 1965, LaFayette had moved to Chicago and was not present for "Bloody Sunday" in Selma. However, he promptly organized transportation from Chicago to Alabama for the subsequent march, which occurred two weeks later after President Lyndon Johnson introduced the Voting Rights Act to Congress.
Chicago Initiatives and Collaboration with Martin Luther King Jr.
In Chicago, LaFayette trained Black youth in leadership for the freedom movement and assisted in forming tenant unions, which contributed to contemporary tenant protections. He also organized high school students to screen toddlers for lead poisoning, prompting Chicago to develop the nation's first mass screening program for the condition.
LaFayette collaborated with Andrew Young and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) on Martin Luther King Jr.'s northern campaign in Chicago. By 1968, he served as the national coordinator of King's Poor People's Campaign. He was present at the Lorraine Motel on the morning of King's assassination.
King's final communication to LaFayette concerned the institutionalization and internationalization of the nonviolence movement.
Post-Assassination Work and Global Advocacy
Following King's death, LaFayette completed his bachelor's degree at American Baptist Theological Seminary and earned master's and doctorate degrees from Harvard University.
His career included roles such as director of Peace and Justice in Latin America, chairperson of the Consortium on Peace Research, Education and Development, and director of the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island.
He conducted nonviolence workshops with groups such as the African National Congress in South Africa and in Nigeria during its civil war, becoming a global advocate for nonviolence. Andrew Young described LaFayette as a "global prophet of nonviolence," and DeMark Liggins, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, recognized LaFayette’s impact on numerous individuals both domestically and internationally.
In his memoir, LaFayette stated that:
The value of life is found in what people do to give it significance.