The Howard University Gospel Choir Concert - A Celebration

Come enjoy The Howard University Gospel Choir in Honor of William Stuart Nelson. This event promises powerful voices, uplifting praises, and a whole lot of soul. Join in and celebrate good music, community, and joy. Don’t miss out on this amazing experience filled with honor and spirit!

William Stuart Nelson was born in Paris, KY and grew up in Paducah, KY and gratuated from Lincoln High School. He was a 1920 graduate of Howard University where he was a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. He was also a 1924 divinity graduate of Yale University. He studied at the Sorbonne University in Paris France - he was fluent in French and also in Germany. Nelson was a veteran of World War I. He was the first African American president of Shaw University (1931-1936) in North Carolina. Nelson was also the first African American president of Dillard University in New Orleans, LA, beginning in 1936. Nelson studied Non-Violence means from Mahatma Gahndi in India. Upon his return to the U.S. he established the origin and philosophy of non-violence. He was a mentor to Martin Luther King and others in the Civil Rights Movement. He marched to Selma with MLK during the height of the movement. The "for coloreds" park here in Paducah, KY was named after him "STUART NELSON PARK".

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Host or Publisher Paducah Historical Preservation Group, Inc. - PHPG