Lawrence Guyot, civil rights leader, dies after decades of activism

Lawrence Guyot, a 73-year-old civil rights activist who survived beatings and went to prison in Mississippi in the 60s, died late Thursday night. Guyot was a long-time advocate of voter rights.

By Associated Press / November 25, 2012

Lawrence Guyot, at age 23, removed his shirt in Jackson, Miss., to show newsmen where he says Greenwood and Winona police beat him with leather slapsticks, in June of 1963. His daughter Julie Guyot-Diangone said he died late Thursday or early Friday outside Washington, D.C. at the age of 73.

Jim Bourdier/AP/File

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Lawrence?Guyot, a civil rights leader who survived jailhouse beatings in the Deep South in the 1960s and went on to encourage generations to get involved, has died. He was 73.

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Guyot?had a history of heart problems and suffered from diabetes, and died at home in Mount Rainier, Md., his daughter Julie Guyot-Diangone said late Saturday. She said he died sometime Thursday night; other media reported he passed away Friday.

A Mississippi native,?Guyot?(pronounced GHEE-ott) worked for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and served as director of the 1964 Freedom Summer Project, which brought thousands of young people to the state to register blacks to vote despite a history of violence and intimidation by authorities. He also chaired the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which sought to have blacks included among the state's delegates to the 1964 Democratic National Convention. The bid was rejected, but another civil rights activist, Fannie Lou Hamer, addressed the convention during a nationally televised appearance.

Guyot?was severely beaten several times, including at the notorious Mississippi State Penitentiary known as Parchman Farm. He continued to speak on voting rights until his death, including encouraging people to cast ballots for President Barack Obama.

"He was a civil rights field worker right up to the end," Guyot-Diangone said.

Guyot?participated in the 40th anniversary of the Freedom Summer Project to make sure a new generation could learn about the civil rights movement.

"There is nothing like having risked your life with people over something immensely important to you," he told The Clarion-Ledger in 2004. "As Churchill said, there's nothing more exhilarating than to have been shot at ? and missed."

His daughter said she recently saw him on a bus encouraging people to register to vote and asking about their political views. She said he was an early backer of gay marriage, noting that when he married a white woman, interracial marriage was illegal in some states. He met his wife Monica while they both worked for racial equality.

"He followed justice," his daughter said. "He followed what was consistent with his values, not what was fashionable. He just pushed people along with him."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/swR4N3Vs0xk/Lawrence-Guyot-civil-rights-leader-dies-after-decades-of-activism

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