Biography · Civil Rights & Community
Wally Nelson
1909–2002
United States
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Biography
Wallace Floyd Nelson (27 March 1909 – 23 May 2002) was an American civil rights activist and war tax resister. He spent three and a half years in prison as a conscientious objector during World War II, was on the first of the "Freedom Rides" (then called the "Journey of Reconciliation") enforcing desegregation in 1947, and was the first national field organizer for the Congress of Racial Equality. For their role as civil rights activists, they received the Courage of Conscience Award from The Peace Abbey in Sherborn, Massachusetts.
Sources & collection details
Wikipedia contributors — original record ↗
Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13
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