Bernard Lafayette
American civil rights activist (1940–2026)
Bernard Lafayette (or LaFayette) Jr. (; July 29, 1940 – March 5, 2026) was an American civil rights activist, organizer and Baptist minister, who was a leader in the civil rights movement. He played a leading role in early organizing of the Selma Voting Rights Movement. He was also a member of the Nashville Student Movement and worked closely throughout the 1960s movements with groups such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the American Friends Service Committee.
Background
Lafayette was born on July 29, 1940, in Tampa, Florida, where he was also raised. His parents were Willie Verdell (Forrester) and Bernard Lafayette Sr. Bernard was the eldest of eight children. His siblings were Harold, Joyce, Rozelia, Brenda, Geri, Michael, and Victoria. Lafayette spent much of his childhood in Tampa. His family grew up poor, so Bernard started working odd jobs to gain more income by the age of 11.
The public source identifies “Bernard Lafayette” as american civil rights activist (1940–2026). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Bernard, Lafayette and American.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4893345. VIAF identifies the subject as 1635979. The Library of Congress control number is n90682516. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1940 and 2026.
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This entry incorporates text from “Bernard Lafayette” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.