Centenary celebration to recall peace activist

[ Originally published on: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 ]

GREENFIELD -- A centenary celebration of the life of Wally Nelson, a former resident of Deerfield, will take place on Sunday, March 29, at 5 p.m. at the Guiding Star Grange, 401 Chapman St., in Greenfield.

Nelson was born in 1909 and died in 2002 at the age of 93. He was an early civil rights worker, organic farmer, war tax resister, and outspoken advocate and practitioner of nonviolence.

The celebration will begin with a potluck supper, for which people are asked to bring their own place settings along with a dish, salad, or dessert to share. Supper will be followed by a slide presentation of Nelson's life, a talk by his lifelong partner, Juanita Nelson, live music (bring an instrument if you wish), singing, and dancing.

All are welcome.

Wally Nelson was the son of a Methodist minister who was also an Arkansas sharecropper. He was the 11th of 12 children. An ardent pacifist, he was imprisoned for 33 months during World War II for refusing to bear arms.

While in prison, he played a key role in ending racial segregation as the official policy of the federal prison system. In 1947, he participated in the first interracial ''Freedom Ride,'' traveling by bus through the Southern states to test the landmark Supreme Court decision banning racial segregation in interstate transportation.

In 1948, in order to avoid supporting wars financially, the Nelsons began their practice of refusing to pay federal income taxes. During the early 1950s, as the first national field organizer for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Nelson directed several interracial workshops on nonviolent direct action in Washington, D.C., which led to the complete desegregation of public places in the nation's capitol. In 1968, he fasted for 21 days in support of the United Farm Workers' campaign for just wages and working conditions for farm laborers.

In 1974, the couple moved to Woolman Hill in Deerfield where they started an organic vegetable farm. During the late 1970s, they were among the founders of the Valley Community Land Trust in Franklin County, Pioneer Valley War Tax Resisters, and the Greenfield Farmers Market. Nelson was a regular market vendor every Saturday morning in downtown Greenfield, and was a participant in the annual war-tax protest in front of the Greenfield Post Office on Tax Day.

''Wally led an amazing and inspiring life,'' said his long-time friend, Randy Kehler of Colrain. ''He had a huge impact on people. He showed us how to live a life of integrity and have the courage of our convictions. He and his partner Juanita demonstrated that you can choose to lead a principled life and in so doing achieve a level of happiness most people would have a hard time imagining.''

For more information, call: Eveline MacDougall (413) 773-8655 or Randy Kehler (413) 624-8858, or e-mail rkehler@crocker.com.

 

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