Nelson, Wallace F.

Wallace Floyd (Wally) Nelson, b. 1909, was an African American conscientious objector and World War II absolute pacifist who illegally walked out of the Civilian Public Service Camp, No. 23 near Coshocton, Ohio. He was imprisoned for his walkout in a segregated federal prison in Danbury, Conn. He had a long history of activism, participating in 1934 in the student strike on the campus of the University of Chicago. In 1946 he participated in the Journey of Reconciliation--the first freedom ride bus trip in the South. In the 1950s he was the first full-time travelling secretary for CORE, the Congress for Racial Equality. From 1948 forward, Wally and his wife Juanita were war tax resisters.