Posted on Feb 18, 2008

GABEO Mourns the Passing of The Reverend James Orange A “Giant in the Movement” 1943-2008 GABEO is deeply saddened at the loss of our brother, friend and colleague, Rev. James Orange. Rev. Orange was a diligent member and supporter of GABEO, who served as our Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa. Before Nelson Mandela was freed in 1990, Rev. Orange went to South Africa to mentor, train, and prepare the African National Congress (ANC) for the upcoming registration of elections. He was one of the first people on the ground in South Africa working on that project. He established a great relationship with the ANC and Nelson Mandela. A 40-year resident of southwest Atlanta, Rev. Orange was a life-long civil rights activist, who was hired as a field staffer by the SCLC in the 1960s. He later worked for the AFL-CIO as a regional coordinator. In 1995, he founded the M.L. King Jr. March Committee-Africa/African American Renaissance Committee, Inc., and was the key organizer of the annual march and other activities in Atlanta in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He joined the Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery and Rep. Tyrone Brooks in organizing the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda. Described as a “gentle giant” and a “master organizer” by friends and colleagues, Rev. Orange participated in numerous major civil rights marches for freedom, justice and equality. Through the years he has been a key organizer of voter registration, education and mobilization efforts in Alabama, Georgia and throughout the nation. “Rev. Orange has been a good friend, colleague and a big brother to me for more than 40 years,” said Tyrone Brooks, president of GABEO. “We’ll miss him because he was just a big, big giant in the movement. He died young but we have to thank God we had him for 65 years," Brooks said. Please keep his wife, Mrs. Cleophas Orange, his children, grandchildren, and their entire family in your thoughts and prayers.