Julian Bond died in Fort Walton Beach in the US state of Florida on Saturday night, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) announced in a statement.

"With Julian's passing, the country has lost one of its most passionate and eloquent voices for the cause of justice," SPLC co-founder Morris Dees said. "Julian was a visionary and tireless champion for civil and human rights."

"He advocated not just for African-Americans, but for every group, indeed every person subject to oppression and discrimination, because he recognized the common humanity in us all," Dees added.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Bond helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and in the early 1960s traveled across the US South to organize civil rights and voter registration drives. He was also was a key figure in the protests that led to the nation's landmark civil rights laws.

In 1965, Bond was one of several African-Americans elected to serve in the state of Georgia's House of Representatives after the new Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act opened registration to blacks. He held office in the state for two decades.

Bond was the first president of the SPLC between 1971 and 1979. He also went on to serve as chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a prominent 500,000-member rights group, from 1998 to 2010.

The son of a university president and librarian, Bond taught at several universities and became a published author. He was later a regular commentator for "The Today Show," and hosted NBC's late night comedy show, "Saturday Night Live."

Bond is survived by his wife and his five children.

nm/bk (Reuters, AP)