The Rev. James Orange, a civil rights activist whose 1965 jailing sparked a fatal protest that ultimately led to the famed Selma-to-Montgomery march and the Voting Rights Act, died Saturday at Atlanta's Crawford Long Hospital, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference said in a statement. He was 65.
Orange was a native of Birmingham, Alabama, "who resided in southwest Atlanta for four decades while fighting the good fight for equality and social justice for all mankind," said the SCLC, a civil rights organization.Someone once described the reverend as "a gentle giant" because of his large frame. A gentle Orange giant.
Orange was arrested and jailed in Perry County, Alabama, in 1965 on charges of disorderly conduct and contributing to the delinquency of minors for enlisting students to aid in voting rights drives.
[CNN]
1 comment:
Parmenter, 20, of Westchester, was described as a "gentle giant" by Maria Krull, an adviser at the NIU student newspaper.
http://media.www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2008/02/15/News/A.Look.At.Those.Who.Died.In.Shooting.At.Northern.Illinois.University-3214417.shtml
Bad week for gentle giants, I'd say.
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