Oral history interview with Wally Nelson, 1999

Biographical Note

Wallace (Wally) Floyd Nelson was a civil rights activist and tax resister. Born in 1909 to Duncan Nelson, a Methodist minister, Nelson was the youngest of twelve children and grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas. At age eighteen, Nelson attended Ohio Wesleyan University. He was a leader in his Methodist youth group and became involved in an anti-war, anti-racist group in Chicago, where he lived through the Great Depression. In 1942, Nelson was sent to a Civilian Public Service Camp (CPS) as a conscientious objector; he walked off the camp one year later and was subsequently imprisoned for thirty three months, the last eighty eight days of which were spent on hunger strike. Upon his release, Nelson participated in the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation. He married Juanita Nelson in 1948, and the two lived their lives as tax resisters. Nelson was a founding member of Peacemakers, an American pacifist organization, and was the first CORE national field officer. He is a founder of the American tax resistance movement. Nelson died on May 23, 2002

Scope and Contents

Nelson reflects on his Arkansas upbringing and the principles taught to him in his youth. The youngest son of twelve children, Nelson describes his relationship with his half-siblings and the racial violence they encountered growing up. Nelson credits his father for his tendency towards nonviolence in the face of racial hatred. He describes his time in Delaware, Ohio at Ohio Wesleyan University and elaborates on his involvement in a Methodist youth group and his origins as a war objector. Nelson recalls his 1934 pledge against supporting any country in war. Nelson explains his rationale for leaving the Civilian Public Service conscription camp before describing his thirty three month incarceration, which took place in Cleveland County Jail and Michigan and Connecticut federal facilities. The following portion of the interview focuses on Nelson's work with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in the 1950s and 1960s. Nelson explains his opinions regarding CORE's policies on Communist membership, the work of Peacemakers, and his assistance at Koinonia Farms (Koinonia Partners) in Georgia. The last segment of this interview consists of a conversation between Wally and Juanita Nelson and the interviewer. They discuss their decision to join the civil rights movement, Juanita's mother, and the lack of longevity of civil rights organizations

Subjects

• Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century.
• Congress of Racial Equality.
• Imprisonment--United States.
• Interviews.
• Koinonia Partners.
• Methodist Church (U.S.)
• Michaels, Sheila, 1939-2017, interviewer.
• Nelson, Juanita--Interviews.
• Nelson, Wallace F.--Interviews.
• Oral histories.
• Pacifism.
• Peacemakers.
• Peace movements--United States--History--20th century.
• United States--Race relations--History--20th century.
• War tax resistance.
• World War, 1939-1945--Draft resisters.