Archive Record
Metadata
Title |
John Nixon Sr. Collection |
Collection |
John W. Nixon Sr. Collection |
Catalog Number |
2010.006 |
Object Name |
Papers, Personal |
Level of description |
Fonds/Coll |
Scope & Content |
John W. Nixon, Sr. Collection 7 boxes, 9 electronic images; 9 cubic feet John W. Nixon, Sr., 1922-1988 Dr. John W. Nixon, Sr. archive collection at Alabama State University (ASU) consist of correspondence, photographs, Plaques, and other information related to his acting career, his work with race relations, and the Alabama National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He was appointed in 1965 as Director of the NAACP in Alabama. Dr. John W. Nixon, Sr. was born in Homeland, Florida, in 1922 the son of Will and Veivor Robinson Nixon. Will was a phosphate mine worker and his mother Veivor was a housewife. Dr. Nixon attended college before he entered the army during World War II. After the war, he completed his education, which included attending Bethune Cookman college, Daytona, Florida and Fisk University, Tennessee. He received his D.D.S. degree in 1952 from the dental school of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. He was offered to practice in Boston with the opportunity to pursue graduate work at Tufts University. At the same time as, Birmingham dentist, Dr. Andrew J Blecher, offered him a position. During his visit to Birmingham to check on the job, Dr. Blecher passed away, and Nixon stayed in Birmingham to help with Dr. Belcher's patients. He was married to former Melba Cole, three children were born to this union: John W. Jr., Karl H. and Melba Haley. Civil Rights Movement: Dr. Nixon was a vital participant in the struggle for civil rights in Birmingham in the 1950s and 60s. From 1963 to about 1967, he served one year as Chairman of the Southern Regional Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and was elected President for two one-year terms for the Alabama Conference of the NAACP Branches, and two one year terms as the President of the Birmingham Chapter of the NAACP. During pivotal confrontations in 1963, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and Fred Shuttlesworth, Dr. Nixon, A. G. Gaston, and some of the members of the Birmingham based Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR), were among a group of black businessmen who called for moderation rather than confrontation. The work of King and Shuttleworth was the precursor to the march on Washington in August 1963 and ultimately, the passage of more effective civil rights legislation. Also, the established relationships are black and white professionals, like Dr. Nixon, paved the way for the successful implementation of many of the local reforms that the protests had initiated. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) worked closely with the Birmingham branch of the NAACP, of which Dr. Nixon was president, on a series of cases involving job discrimination in the area, notably those relating to U.S. Steel, the city's largest employer at the time. Dr. Nixon used the Blecher- Nixon building as his primary base of operations for much of his civil rights related activities throughout the 1950s and 1960s. He maintained a small office in the building where he would plan his activities, communicate with other leaders by phone, and held small meetings. The building served as the local NAACP headquarters during Dr. Nixon's term as the organization's president. Professional activities: In addition to his dental practice and civil rights work, Dr. Nixon was active in a wide variety of other pursuits. He worked in the Clinical Department at University of the Alabama Birmingham School of Density in 1974. He was appointed to the National Advisory Dental Research Council of the National Institute of Health in 1976. Dr. Nixon served on the Alabama State Board of Pension and Security from 1982-1987. He was a member of the President's Cabinet at the University of Alabama under President F. David Mathews. His business pursuits include founding member of the Citizens Federal Savings and Loan (est. 1956), founding member of Operation New Birmingham and president of the Ensley Neighborhood Federal Credit Union. Dr. Nixon joined with prominent Birmingham business leader's AG Gaston and Arthur Shores to establish United Service Associates, Inc. (USAI, est. 1971), a very successful facilities maintenance company. An accomplished actor and storyteller, Dr. Nixon appeared in both local productions and was in 15 major films and a member of the Screen Actors Guild. He participated in Birmingham annual Black History Month programs and became a much sought-after dramatist of poetry because of his acting skills and "melodious voice". He later joined the Birmingham actor and writer, Thom Gassom, Jr. to create an oral history program called, "Speak of Me as I Am" that was very popular in Birmingham schools and churches until Dr. Nixon's death December 20, 1988. Religious activities: Dr. Nixon was a member and served as Associate Pastor to Rev. John Thomas Porter at Sixth Ave Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama from approximately 1971-1988. |
Search Terms |
Nixon, John W., Sr. National Association of the Advancement of Colored People Civil Rights in Alabama |
People |
Nixon, John W., Sr. |
Child Records |
Box 1 - Documents Box 2 - Documents, Journals, etc. Box 3 - Articles, Documents, etc. Box 4 - Documents, Correspondences, etc. Box 5 - Articles, Documents, Letters, etc. Box 6 - Documents Box 7 - Personal Book Collection |