Nellie Stone Johnson was a Civil Rights activist and a union organizer. Being the first African American elected official in Minneapolis, she shaped politics in that city for 70 years. Her activism included helping to form the Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor Party (DFL) and led the effort to create the first Fair Employment Practices Department in the USA. She served on the Democratic National Committee in the 1980s. Nellie Johnson was also a member of the NAACP. She was also a member of the University of Minnesota’s Young Communist League. In 1936, she became a member, then president of AFL’s Local 665, Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union. Johnson mentored President Hubert Humphrey on issues of Civil Rights. She served on the committee that merged the moderate Minnesota Democratic Party with the radical Farmer-Labor Party, forming the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). Later in life, in the 1960s she raised money for the Freedom Marches. Johnson released an autobiography in 2000, Nellie Stone Johnson: The Life of an Activist.
More Info
Church Affiliation:Union Church/Union Sunday School
Role in the Movement:Nellie Stone Johnson was a Civil Rights activist and a union organizer.
Birth Place:Dokota County, MN
Born Date:December 17, 1905
Deceased Date:April 2, 2002
Place Lived as Adult:Minneapolis, MN
Church Location:Minnesota