"Pants on the Ground" Larry Platt, More Than Meets the Eye

American Idol auditions for Season 9 in Atlanta featured a 62-year old man named Larry Platt who appeared before judges singing a comical song he composed called "Pants on the Ground." The show has become famous for televising people who create an illogical character image of their personality and then appear to be serious about auditioning in order to get their 10 seconds of fame. Initially, viewers judged Larry Platt as that kind of guy. Some said he was probably just a crazy old man with nothing better to do. But this couldn't be further from the truth. Let's take a deeper look into the life of General Larry Platt and what got the 62 year old man noticed in the auditions.

Larry Platt was a protester and Civil Rights activist in the 1960's as a young boy. The website crmvet.org is a historical account of the Civil Rights Movement and those who lived through it. According to an email written by Larry Platt to promote the Civil Rights Movement Veterans, he "came by bus to Savannah, Georgia to plan a march" against segregation in 1963. "Reverend Hosea Williams and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." were his leaders. In a photo published in The Civil Rights Movement: A Photographic History, 1954-1968, by Steven Kasher, Larry Platt appeared as a 16 year old boy with 5 other singers and the photo can be seen on the website (SEE PHOTO ). He is the one on the left looking at the camera.

According to a House Resolution from the Georgia General Assembly, September 4, 2001 was proclaimed "Larry Platt Day" for his "significant contributions" throughout his life. The Resolution lists his many accomplishments as follows:

"WHEREAS, beginning in 1963, Larry Platt worked diligently with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which was established to help organize student sit-ins and to fight segregation in restaurants and other public places; and

WHEREAS, Larry Platt, a student of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., experienced raw violence when he was beaten while attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in the historic march from Selma to Montgomery on Bloody Sunday; and

WHEREAS, Larry Platt's leadership and dedication was again clearly reflected in his faithful and loyal commitment to the United Youth Adult Conference search efforts, which organized volunteers to search for missing and murdered children in the Metropolitan Atlanta area."

SEE FULL RESOLUTION HERE

Larry Platt continues to promote equality and non-violence in Atlanta, Georgia as well as publicly protesting foreclosures in the area. Maybe his new found fame will provide him with a greater platform to raise awareness. This man has an amazing charisma about him and has a strong message to offer the teens that watch American Idol.