Oral history interview with Frank Nelson, 1998

Biographical Note

Frank Nelson was born in New York City in the summer of 1938 and was an active leader in the civil rights movement, antiwar movement, and for various other progressive causes. Nelson attended the Cooper Union and was awarded a degree in mechanical engineering. In 1961, Nelson went south to join the Freedom Rides in an effort to desegregate public facilities in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and North Carolina. During this time, Nelson was arrested, jailed, and beaten various times. In 1962, he married Pat Smith, a fellow Freedom Rider, although they ultimately separated. After living in several different cities, Nelson settled in San Francisco where he met his longtime companion Stephanie Potter. There, Frank used his skills with numbers to help organize the finances of progressive groups including the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador and the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House. Nelson died on October 28, 2005

Scope and Contents

Frank Nelson begins the interview explaining how he became involved with political activism, including how he decided to join the 1961 Freedom Rides through the Deep South. He recalls differences he observed between the civil rights efforts in the South and those in the North. In particular, Nelson describes the demographics of the New Orleans chapter of CORE as well as those he met along the Freedom Rides. Nelson shares the story of how he met his first wife, Pat Smith, a fellow Freedom Rider. He describes various encounters with the law, including: the reasons for his arrest, experiences of police brutality, the various prison environments he experienced, his rebellions within jail, and his lengthy hunger strike. He also describes a brush with an angry mob in the town in which Mack Charles Parker was murdered a year earlier. In addition to the Freedom Rides, Nelson describes other desegregation efforts he was involved in, such as an effort in Statesville, NC, focusing on Greyhound bus terminals, and one across the south to ensure the enforcement of recent rulings by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Nelson also describes his later life and work in both New York City and Los Angeles. He discusses his experience working at a union in New York; his leadership in the LA peace movements and its repercussions; and his involvement in the June 23, 1967 LA anti-war protest, which triggered a violent police response. Other topics of discussion include: Nelson's support of the Progressive Labor Party, his interactions with Floyd McKissick and his daughters, and his perceptions of Martin Luther King Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and what King could have done differently

Subjects

• Civil rights demonstrations--United States.
• Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century.
• Civil rights workers--United States--History--20th century.
• Congress of Racial Equality.
• Imprisonment--United States.
• Interviews.
• Michaels, Sheila, 1939-2017, interviewer.
• Nelson, Frank--Interviews.
• Oral histories.
• Peace movements--United States--History--20th century.
• United States--Race relations--History--20th century.