Nellie Stone Johnson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nellie Stone Johnson
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Johnson in 1943
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Nellie Saunders Allen
December 17, 1905 |
| Died | April 2, 2002 (aged 96) |
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| Alma mater | Honorary Doctor of Letters, St. Cloud State University, 1995 |
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| Organization | NAACP |
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Nellie Stone Johnson (born December 17, 1905 – died April 2, 2002) was an American hero. She fought for civil rights and helped workers join unions. She was the first African-American person elected to a city-wide job in Minneapolis. Nellie helped shape Minnesota politics for 70 years!
Johnson helped create the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL). She also led the effort to start the first Fair Employment Practices department in the nation. This department helped make sure people were hired fairly. She advised important leaders like Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale. In the 1980s, she was part of the Democratic National Committee.
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Early Life and Education
Nellie Saunders Allen was born in Dakota County, Minnesota. This was near Lakeville on December 17, 1905. She was the oldest of eight children. Her parents, William and Gladys Allen, were one of the few Black farming families in Minnesota.
Nellie's family owned their first two farms between 1905 and 1918. Her mother was a college-educated schoolteacher from Kentucky. Her family had African American, French, Irish, and American Indian roots. They had a dairy farm. Her father was involved with the Nonpartisan League, helping farmers organize.
When Nellie was 13, she handed out flyers for the Nonpartisan League on her way to school. She went to public schools in Dakota and Pine Counties. In 1919, her family moved to a bigger farm near Hinckley. She milked cows every morning and trapped animals like muskrat and mink to earn money. As a teenager, she joined the NAACP.
In September 1922, Nellie moved to Minneapolis. She worked as a nanny for a white family. Later, she moved in with her aunt and uncle. She took classes at the University of Minnesota. She first studied agriculture, then chemistry, hoping to become a pharmacist. But she became more interested in social and political science. She finished her GED in 1925.
Fighting for Workers' Rights and Fair Treatment
In 1924, Nellie got a job as an elevator operator at the Minneapolis Athletic Club. She earned $15 a week. When her pay was cut, she secretly started organizing workers. She worked with the Minneapolis Hotel and Restaurant Workers union.
In the 1930s, she joined the Young Communist League. In 1936, she became a member and then vice president of the AFL's Local 665. This was a union for hotel and restaurant workers.
Johnson met future Vice President Hubert Humphrey in 1941. She later helped him understand civil rights issues. In 1944, she was on the committee that combined two political parties. These were the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party. This created the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL).
In 1945, she was elected to the Library Board. This made her the first Black person elected to a city-wide job in Minneapolis.
Johnson was key in creating state and local Fair Employment Practices departments. These later became the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the state Human Rights Department. In the 1940s, she led the effort to create the Minneapolis Fair Employment Practices department. This was the first of its kind in the country. In 1955, she helped create a statewide law like it, called the Employment Practices Act of 1955. She also wrote a plan in 1950 for the Minneapolis NAACP. This plan helped end segregation in the U.S. armed forces.
| "I've always been preaching a simple message, jobs, jobs, jobs. Clear back in 1950s, it was fashionable for white liberals to go out to dinner with black people. They'd take you to a restaurant like Charlie's and people would think 'Isn't this nice? This wouldn't happen in some places.' But I'd say, even then, 'What good does it do if we can go into nice restaurants if we can't afford to order in them." |
Later Life and Continued Activism
In the 1960s, Nellie raised money for the Freedom Marches. These marches were led by Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1963, Johnson opened her own sewing and alterations shop. She continued her business in downtown Minneapolis for over 30 years. In the 1980s, her store was known as Nellie's Shirt & Zipper Shop. Later, it was called Nellie's Alterations.
Johnson stayed active in state and local politics. She managed Van Freeman White's successful campaign for the Minneapolis City Council in 1979. She traveled to Africa with Vice President Walter Mondale in 1980. Governor Rudy Perpich appointed her to the Minnesota State University Board in 1982. In the 1980s, she was a member of the Democratic National Committee for two terms.
The Nellie Stone Johnson Scholarship Program was started in 1989. It gives scholarships to minority students from union families.
Johnson wrote her autobiography in 2000. It was called Nellie Stone Johnson: The Life of an Activist. The book was put together from over 50 interviews.
Johnson was also a trustee of the Minneapolis Public Library. She was a board member of MnSCU. In 2000, she received a lifetime achievement award.
Death and Legacy
Nellie Stone Johnson died on April 2, 2002, in Minneapolis. She was 96 years old.
The Nellie Stone Johnson Community School in Minneapolis is named after her. She inspired a public artwork called Shadows of Spirit in 1992. A play about her life, called Nellie, opened in 2013. A statue of Johnson is planned for the Minnesota State Capitol.
Personal Life
Johnson was married two times. She was married to Clyde Stone for eight years. She was married to Lee Johnson for five years. Both marriages ended in divorce.
