Arrest
Bond protests the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, joining 48 activists at the gates of the White House. D.C. police arrest Bond and the other protesters. Some of the activists tied themselves to the gates with plastic handcuffs; others sit and refused to budge despite officers’ repeated requests. Bond says civil disobedience was again needed.
When you find that ordinary methods of persuasion are not working, you turn to other methods, and this is peaceful, nonthreatening and has been successful in the past, and there is no reason to believe it won’t be successful here. This is not a pipeline to America. It’s a pipeline through America, and it threatens to be a disaster for us if it leaks poisons on the way.
IRS reviews tax-exempt status
The Internal Revenue Service reviews the tax-exempt status of the NAACP, citing concerns over a speech given by Chairman Bond at its annual convention in Philadelphia. The IRS tells the association it has received information that Bond conveyed “statements in opposition of George W. Bush for the office of presidency” and specifically that he had “condemned the administration policies of George W. Bush in education, the economy and the war in Iraq. Bond defends his remarks:
This is an attempt to silence the NAACP on the very eve of a presidential election. We are best known for registering and turning out large numbers of African-American voters. Clearly, someone in the I.R.S. doesn’t want that to happen. It’s Orwellian to believe that criticism of the president is not allowed or that the president is somehow immune from criticism.
Arrest
Bond is arrested outside the South African Embassy in Washington D.C. for protesting apartheid.
Rules to seat Bond
The United States Supreme Court rules 9–0 in the case of Bond v. Floyd (385 U.S. 116) that the Georgia House of Representatives had denied Bond his freedom of speech and was required to seat him. He serves four terms in the Georgia House, where he organizes the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus.
Sues Georgia legislature
On three occasions, the white leaders of the Georgia legislature prevent Bond from taking his seat. The legislature claims it has the right to determine the qualifications of its members. Bond files suit, saying:
If they bar me again, I’ll sue them again.