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James Luther Bevel was born in Itta Bena, Mississippi. He is a descendant to Dennis and Illie Bevel. His father was a farmer and an unordained minister. Being a black land owner in Humphreys County, their family was often a target for white repression on property which really hurt the family. His parents soon after divorced. His Childhood then became divided between Mississippi and Ohio. Bevel’s Father had earned the nickname “Crazy Dennis Bevel” by whites who lived near him because of his unwillingness to suffer the injustice of Jim Crow laws. This heavily influenced James Bevel’s ideals as somebody who would later become a Civil Rights Activist.

James Luther Bevel

References• Oxford African American Studies Center – James

Luther Bevel• Kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu – James Luther

Bevel • Britannica Academic UAB Database – James Luther

Bevel• htts8.nytimes.com/images/2008/12/23/us/bevel190.j

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• http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/23/us/23bevel.html?_r=0

• http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/mp/o-i05EshwxIx.jpg

• http://cdn.indiewire.com/dims4/INDIEWIRE/64a461a/2147483647/thumbnail/325x227%3E/quality/75/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fd1oi7t5trwfj5d.cloudfront.net%2F6f%2F6f%2F2f0876824205829572d3306bf4e4%2Fresizes%2F500%2Fjames-bevel-common.jpg

• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Rev.Jim_Bevel_003.jpg/220px-Rev.Jim_Bevel_003.jpg

Legacy (If deceased)

Early Life

Figure 2: Here is picture of the real James Bevel compared to his character played by Common in the movie Selma

School and Beyond

Personal Life

James Bevel married one of his Civil Rights Peers Diane Nash. They had 2 children and were divorced four years later. Decades later he became the father of 16 children by 7 different women.

IntroductionThis Poster is about the Honorable Civil Rights Activist James Luther Bevel. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr often credits Bevel with sparking the Children’s Crusade in 1963 in Birmingham Alabama. Bevel was often with King during many of civil rights marches and Movements and also when King was killed in Memphis, Tennessee.

Bevel later served in the United States Navy, a bricklayer’s assistant in Ohio, as a musician in a nightclub music group. Moved by an encounter with God at a neighbor’s church, Bevel Registered as a student at American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville in 1957. On campus, he soon gained a strong reputation for his powerful influence in the pulpit both intellectually and musically. He was officially ordained as a Baptist Pastor in 1959, and went on to minister at Chestnut Grove Baptist Church.

Figure 1

Figure 1: Here is Dr. Martin Luther King and James Bevel together. Bevel was often an advisory to Dr. King during the Civil Rights movements

Figure 2

How he got his start

Figure 3

Figure 3: Here is a picture of an older, post civil rights movement James Bevel.

Bevel became drawn to activities outside of school. While in school to become a minister had met a preacher by the name of Reverend James Lawson. Lawson, a former evangelist and member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, had captivated a large number of students (Both Black and White) to his non-violent technique workshops which he taught as part of their Christian faith. Participants in these teachings were future civil rights leaders Diane Nash, John Lewis, Marion Barry, Bernard Lafayette, and others. Bevel was doubtful about Lawson but became inspired by the teachings with

Lawson’s examples of Mohandas Gandhi non-violent tactics. Bevel took Lawson’s teaching and his readings of Russian Christian Novelist Leo Tolstoy while in the Navy and had resolved that non-violent action was the logical way to defeat social injustice. Bevel with the help of Diane Nash, John Lewis, and James Lawson, staged a prosperous sit in campaign in Nashville restaurants in 1960. Bevel and small group of non-violent protesters linked up with others to form the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Bevel and his other Nashville crusaders gained a lot of attention for their efforts both positive and negative. Bevel would go on to play a crucial role in Civil Rights Movements in Nashville.

Civil Rights ActivismIn 1961, Bevel helped stage a number of “stand-ins” in movie theaters to desegregate Nashville’s downtown area. That same year, Bevel and other Nashville activist brought back Freedom Rides in Nashville which were illegal. Bevel and his fellow activist were arrested and Bevel was sent back to a prison in his home state of Mississippi. After being Released Bevel began organizing Civil Rights groups in multiple cities in Mississippi. Bevel worked for both the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). His work and notoriety with both of these organization gave him positions like member of the executive staff and field

secretary. In 1964 Bevel worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as an ambassador for him to the younger leaders of the SNCC whilst building his reputation a prominent civil rights organizer. Bevel’s most famous leadership work is his arrangement of the Children’s Crusade in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963.

James Bevel passed away at 72 due to his loss of battle against Pancreatic Cancer. He died in December of 2008 in Springfield, Virginia