19 Facts About ED Nixon

Longtime organizer and activist, ED Nixon was president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Montgomery Welfare League, and the Montgomery Voters League.

At the time, ED Nixon already led the Montgomery branch of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union, known as the Pullman Porters Union, which he had helped organize.

ED Nixon's mother died when he was young, and he and his seven siblings were reared among extended family in Montgomery.

ED Nixon was able to travel around the country and worked steadily.

ED Nixon became an actor known by the stage name of Nick LaTour.

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ED Nixon later married Arlette ED Nixon, who was with him during many of the civil rights events.

Years before the Montgomery bus boycott, ED Nixon had worked for voting rights and civil rights for African Americans in Montgomery.

ED Nixon served as an unelected advocate for the African-American community, helping individuals negotiate with white office holders, policemen, and civil servants.

ED Nixon joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, becoming president of the Montgomery chapter and, within two years, president of the state organization.

In 1940, ED Nixon organized 750 African Americans to march to the Montgomery County courthouse and attempt to register to vote.

ED Nixon rejected Colvin because she became an unwed mother, another woman who was arrested because he did not believe she had the fortitude to see the case through, and a third woman, Mary Louise Smith, because her father was allegedly an alcoholic.

ED Nixon arranged for Parks' friend, Clifford Durr, a sympathetic white lawyer, to represent her.

ED Nixon recommended King to Abernathy and French because ED Nixon believed that King had not been compromised by dealing with the local white power structure.

An exasperated Nixon threatened to publicly denounce the ministers as cowards.

ED Nixon shared his labor and civil rights contacts with the MIA, organizing financial and other resources to help manage and support the boycott.

At a later rally at New York City's Madison Square Garden, ED Nixon talked about the symbolism of the boycott to an audience of supporters:.

ED Nixon frequently had sharp disagreements with others in the group and competed for leadership.

ED Nixon expressed resentment that King and Abernathy had received most of the credit for the boycott, as opposed to the local activists who had already spent years organizing against racism.

ED Nixon continued to work for civil rights, especially to improve housing and education for blacks in Montgomery.