Nixon, E. D. (1899-1987), was a leader of the civil rights movement in the United States. Nixon organized boycotts to end segregation against African Americans in his hometown of Montgomery , Alabama, in the Southern United States. Segregation is the forced separation of racial groups. Nixon also led efforts to register African Americans to vote.
Edgar Daniel Nixon was born in Robinson Springs, now part of the city of Millbrook, Alabama, on July 12, 1899. His family moved to nearby Montgomery when he was a boy. He had only a little formal education before leaving school to work at about age 13. In the 1920’s, he began working as a porter for the Pullman Car Company, which operated sleeping cars on many U.S. railroads. He joined the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), which worked for better wages and working conditions for black railway workers, in 1928. He also became acquainted with the organization’s founder, A. Philip Randolph . The tall, deep-voiced Nixon became a leader with the group and found that he had the talent to organize and inspire people.
In the 1940’s, Nixon worked with other Montgomery activists to register black voters. In 1945, he became the head of the city’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He became the president of the organization’s Alabama chapter in 1947.
When activist Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to surrender her bus seat to a white man on Dec. 1, 1955, Nixon put up his house for collateral on her bond. In doing so, he used his house as security to obtain the release of Parks from jail by ensuring she would reappear to stand trial. A few days later, Nixon joined with fellow activists to form the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). The MIA worked to gain support for a citywide bus boycott within the black community. The organizers chose a young Baptist minister, Martin Luther King, Jr. , as their leader.
Montgomery depended on black ridership to support its bus service, and the boycott caused financial problems for the city. Some opponents used violent methods to intimidate boycott leaders. Someone threw a bomb into Nixon’s front yard in February 1956, two days after a bomb exploded at the home of King. The boycott ended in late 1956, after the city agreed to follow a court ruling desegregating its buses. In 1957, Nixon resigned from the MIA over disagreements with King about the group’s leadership structure. Later in life, Nixon worked for improved employment opportunities for African Americans and sought to improve conditions for residents in public housing communities. Nixon died on Feb. 25, 1987.
