President Barack Obama today notes the passing of civil rights icon Julian Bond.

Julian Bond, a former NAACP chairman and the co-founder of theÂ Southern Poverty Law Center passed away today at the age of 75.

President Obama lauded his friend as a “hero,” whose life mission was justice and equality.

“Julian Bond was a hero and, Iâ€™m privileged to say, a friend,” President Obama said in a statement today. “Justice and equality was the mission that spanned his life â€“ from his leadership of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, to his founding role with the Southern Poverty Law Center, to his pioneering service in the Georgia legislature and his steady hand at the helm of the NAACP. Michelle and I have benefited from his example, his counsel, and his friendship â€“ and we offer our prayers and sympathies to his wife, Pamela, and his children.”

The President added, “Julian Bond helped change this country for the better. And what better way to be remembered than that.”

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