Atlanta will celebrate the life of another of its civil rights heroes this weekend when it holds a memorial service and a fete for the Rev. Willie Bolden, who died this month.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. found Bolden in a Savannah pool hall and inspired him to change his ways.
Bolden told King, “‘You know I’m an ex-Marine, and if somebody spits on me…I can’t handle that non-violent stuff,’” King convinced him, however, saying “We’re gonna turn this country upside down” with two books — “the Holy Bible” and Gandhi’s book on non-violence.
Bolden later became a minister, part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and led protests as well as worked as the Wagon Master, leading the 1968 Mule Train from Marks, Miss., to Washington, D.C., for the Poor People’s Campaign.
“Willie Bolden was one of the best field staff we ever had,” said the Rev. Joseph Lowery.
You can find out why Lowery says that reading the story at http://bit.ly/1nsJOXV.
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