Joseph Everhart Boone | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1922-09-19)September 19, 1922 |
| Died | July 15, 2006(2006-07-15) (aged 83) |
| Alma mater | Gammon Theological Seminary |
| Occupation | Reverend |
| Known for | Civil rights activist |
Joseph Everhart Boone (September 19, 1922 – July 15, 2006) was an American civil rights activist and organizer who marched together withMartin Luther King Jr.
Joseph E. Boone was the son of John L. and Mattie Roberts Boone.[1]
He attended theHuston–Tillotson University (1950) and earned a Bachelor of Divinity at theGammon Theological Seminary in 1954.He was a member of theKappa Alpha Psi fraternity.[1]
Joseph E. Boone was a minister of theFirst Congregational Church inAnniston, Alabama from 1955 to 1959. From 1959 to 1980, he was Pastor of the Rush Memorial Congregational Church of theAtlanta University Center.[1]
He was a key organizer of the Atlanta Movement, which led to the integration of lunch counters and department stores in Atlanta, during the early 1960s. He worked with King,Ralph Abernathy,John Lewis andAndrew Young, but never was recognized to the same degree they were. In 1960, he encouragedLonnie C. King Jr. (along withJulian Bond an others) to launch theAtlanta Student Movement.[2]
King named Boone as the chief negotiator ofOperation Breadbasket, a program that encouraged businesses that sold to African-Americans, to employ and promote African Americans. Boone led a team of more than 200 ministers in more than 30 cities for Operation Breadbasket. He was also in charge of the negotiations with theAtlanta School Committee for the desegregation of the city's school system.[1]
In 1971, he was appointed Governor's Council on Human Relations by PresidentJimmy Carter.[1] He was also a director of the P.J. Woods Center for the Blind and Senior Citizens[3] where he developed the drug therapy program.[4] Starting in 1974, he collaborated withF. W. Woolworth Company to improve the economic development of black communities.[4] He was a chairman of the board of B.D.&O. Associates, Inc which oversaw the management of several other businesses. In 1985, he purchased a clothes and garments sewing plant that he integrated to B.D.&O.[4]
Rev. Jesse Jackson took over for Boone afterwards.[5]
Boone married Alethea Williams. They had two daughters: Jolaunda and Andrea.[1]
In March 2008 Boone's memory was honored when Simpson Road/Street in Northwest Atlanta was renamed Joseph E. Boone Blvd. in his honor.
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