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Frank Dukes, Influential Leader of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement, Dies at 92

By Barnett Wright The Birmingham Times The Rev. Frank Dukes, an influential Birmingham Civil Rights Movement leader and President of Miles College’s trailblazing student body in the early 1960’s, has died. He was 92. Mr. Dukes, who passed on Saturday morning, would have turned 93 in fifteen days. “It is with profound and nearly indescribable […]
The post Frank Dukes, Influential Leader of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement, Dies at 92 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 years ago

December 5, 2023

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Frank Dukes, icon of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement, has died. (Screengrab YouTube)

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By Barnett Wright

The Birmingham Times

The Rev. Frank Dukes, an influential Birmingham Civil Rights Movement leader and President of Miles College’s trailblazing student body in the early 1960’s, has died. He was 92.

Mr. Dukes, who passed on Saturday morning, would have turned 93 in fifteen days.

“It is with profound and nearly indescribable grief and sadness I announce that this morning my precious father, Reverend Frank Dukes, icon of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement, Co-Creator of the Selective Buying Campaign of 1962, Co-Leader of the Easter Sunday March of 1963 and one of the Birmingham bodyguards for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr,” has passed, wrote his daughter Donna Dukes in a Facebook post on November 11.

Frank Dukes with daughter, Donna, founder/CEO, Maranathan Family Learning Center & Academy, Inc. for at-risk youth and adults. (Donna Dukes/Facebook)

Mr. Duke’s passing comes as the city is commemorating 60 years since the 1963 Birmingham campaign for Civil and Human Rights.

In the early 1960s, Mr. Dukes, as a 31-year-old Miles Student Government Association president, organized students to challenge Birmingham’s stringent segregation through the Selective Buying Campaign.

The campaign grew into a local movement designed as an economic boycott of white merchants who refused to hire Black workers or to desegregate their facilities. It demonstrated the power of non-violent protest and prompted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to come to Birmingham the following year in 1963 to lead nonviolent demonstrations to end segregation.

Mr. Dukes is also a former Director of the Alumni Affairs Department of Miles College, second Black hired by the Alabama State Department of Education as a vocational rehabilitation counselor, US Army/Korean War veteran and President Emeritus of the nonprofit Maranathan Family Learning Center & Academy, Inc. for at-risk youth and adults, founded by his daughter Donna.

“He served a purpose that was very necessary and the Movement would not have been the same without that type of individual …,” Birmingham historian Dr. Horace Huntley told the Birmingham Times. “[Frank Dukes] was a person that spoke the truth and he could speak to people from all walks of life. That’s always important because at that particular juncture [in Birmingham] you had to speak to those who were in ‘control’ and those who were in the street if you were going to be effective. And was very effective with that.”

Few in the Movement were as fearless as Mr. Dukes, said Huntley.

“I really looked up to him because he had a varied background, meaning that he grew up here in Birmingham, he’d gone off to the service and grew up in the military and then he came back and he was not afraid to challenge,” said Huntley, who interviewed Mr. Dukes in 1995 for the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute’s Oral History Project. “A lot of us when we left [the city], we always had in our mind that we were coming back to help change Birmingham, to solve the problems of Birmingham and he epitomized that thought.”

Mr. Dukes was instrumental in the Selective Buying Campaign at downtown Birmingham stores in early 1962, which had its genesis in December 1961 when he had drafted a public statement entitled “This We Believe” which called for more educational and employment opportunities for Blacks in white stores.

The campaign led by Dukes and other boycott leaders such as Miles College Professor Jonathan McPherson; Miles alumnus retired Judge U.W. Clemon; and three prominent Black housewives, Deenie Drew, Althea Montgomery and Ruth Barefield-Pendelton set in motion the end of segregation in Birmingham.

The following spring the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and Alabama Christian Movement for Human Right’s ‘s (ACMHR) Birmingham Campaign launched with Mr. Dukes serving both as a Miles campus organizer and as a guard, protecting leaders during meetings. He was one of four leaders of a mass march from Thirgood Memorial CME Church on Easter Sunday, April 14, and was arrested along with A. D. King, Nelson Smith and John Porter

“He was one of those individuals who was not afraid of [Birmingham Public Safety Commissioner] Bull Conner,” Huntley said. “A lot of us were afraid of Bull Conner, afraid of the police. Frank Dukes [wasn’t] and they knew that, and they respected him for that. White folks and Black folks respected him for the same thing – they couldn’t run over him.”

Mr. Dukes was the third of eight children born to a Fairfield steelworker’s family. He was a graduate of Fairfield Industrial High School served in US Army from 1949 to 1950. After his discharge he worked for Dodge motor company in Detroit, Michigan. In 1954 he re-enlisted for the Korean War and served until 1957. He returned to Detroit, but, after being laid off in 1958 he came home to Fairfield to wait for his recall.

Instead he decided in 1959 to enroll at Miles under the GI Bill. With his broader perspective on justice, and inspired by student protests in North Carolina, Mr. Dukes began urging fellow students to engage in public opposition to segregation in Birmingham. He formed an Anti-Injustice Committee at the college and began formulating demands, including the desegregation of public buildings and businesses and the hiring of African Americans in stores and government departments.

His daughter wrote on Facebook that Mr. Dukes “has made his Earthly transition to be with his Heavenly Father. Please keep our family in prayer … Rest well son, rest well! Lord have mercy upon us! Christ have mercy upon us! Lord have mercy upon us!

Services for Mr. Dukes will be held on Saturday November 18 at noon ion St. Joseph Baptist Church, 500 9th Avenue North, Birmingham AL 35204.

This article originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.

The post Frank Dukes, Influential Leader of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement, Dies at 92 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Here is what you need to know about finding unique white elephant gift ideas that everyone wants to steal

The best white elephant gift ideas are funny enough to get a reaction but useful enough that people actually want to steal them. Look for gifts with a surprise factor, broad appeal, an inside joke, and just enough personality to spark some friendly competition. The wrapping paper comes off, the room goes quiet for half […]

Published

1 week ago

October 4, 2026

Oakland Post

The best white elephant gift ideas are funny enough to get a reaction but useful enough that people actually want to steal them. Look for gifts with a surprise factor, broad appeal, an inside joke, and just enough personality to spark some friendly competition.

The wrapping paper comes off, the room goes quiet for half a second, and suddenly everyone wants the same gift. That is the sweet spot. A great white elephant pick should make people laugh, lean in, and start plotting their next steal before the turn is even over.

Should a White Elephant Gift Be Funny or Useful?

A white elephant gift can be funny or useful, but the strongest choices usually give people a reason to laugh and a reason to keep the item. A practical gift with an odd design, unexpected feature, or playful theme can get a reaction without becoming something the recipient immediately wants to give away.

The right balance depends on the group. Close friends and family members may enjoy a ridiculous gag gift because they already understand one another’s sense of humor.

A workplace exchange, neighborhood party, or mixed-age gathering usually calls for something with broader appeal. In those settings, humor works better when it is built into an item people could still use afterward.

It also helps to think about how quickly the gift will make sense once it is opened. A strangely shaped kitchen tool, oversized mug, quirky desk accessory, or unexpectedly fancy everyday item can create an immediate reaction. Guests understand the joke right away, while the item still has enough practical value to attract a steal.

Pure gag gifts can be harder to pull off. Something that exists only for the punchline may get a big laugh during the reveal and then sit untouched for the rest of the game. If the goal is to bring one of the gifts everyone keeps fighting over, usefulness gives the joke staying power.

Memorable Present Ideas: Creating Inside Joke Gifts

Inside joke gifts can make a white elephant exchange feel much more personal, especially when most of the group shares the same stories. The trick is choosing a reference that people will recognize quickly instead of building the entire joke around something only two guests understand.

You can turn a memorable vacation mishap, office catchphrase, family story, or long-running group joke into the theme of the gift. A personalized comic book can work especially well when it turns familiar people or a ridiculous shared moment into part of the story.

Think carefully about who the joke involves before ordering anything permanent. The gift should make the person feel included in the fun, not singled out for the wrong reason.

Can You Bring Something You Already Own?

Holiday gift exchanges can be a good place to re-gift something you never used, especially if it is unopened and clean.

The following can all work if they still look presentable:

A duplicate kitchen gadget
An untouched game
A decorative item
A sealed gift set
An unopened candle
A new travel accessory

The goal is to give the item a second chance, not use the exchange as an excuse to clear out damaged or unwanted clutter.

Take a close look at the packaging before wrapping it. Faded boxes, missing pieces, visible wear, or anything that looks obviously used can make the gift feel careless.

Wrapping Budget-Friendly Gifts

Wrapping can make gifts more entertaining before anyone even knows what’s inside.

Misdirection works especially well for fun party games. Put a small gift inside a much larger box. Use packaging from an unrelated household item.

Add harmless weight so guests cannot guess what they are holding. The reveal becomes part of the joke without changing the gift itself.

You can also lean into the theme of the exchange. Bright paper, oversized bows, reusable bags, or deliberately over-the-top wrapping can make an ordinary item feel more memorable. If the gift itself is already funny, simple wrapping may work better so the surprise stays hidden until the last second.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Picking Last an Advantage in White Elephant?

Picking last can be an advantage because you get to see almost every gift before making your move. Instead of choosing blindly from the remaining wrapped presents, you can steal something that has already caught your attention if the rules still allow it.

That advantage depends on the house rules. Some games limit how many times a gift can be stolen.

Others lock an item once it reaches a certain number of steals. If the most popular gifts are already unavailable, the final player may have fewer strong options than expected.

The first player can also get another turn at the end in some versions of the game. That rule can balance things out, since the person who started with the least information may get one final chance to steal.

How Do You Plan White Elephant for a Large Group?

For a large white elephant exchange, set a firm spending limit and establish the stealing rules in advance.

Create a clear turn order before the game begins. Drawing numbers as guests arrive can save time once everyone is ready to start.

Keep the number of steals per gift limited so the game does not drag on. It also helps to have one person track which creative holiday presents have been stolen and when they are locked, especially if dozens of people are participating.

Can You Play White Elephant Virtually?

A virtual white elephant exchange can work over a video call, with one person keeping track of the turn order and each steal. Guests can either mail physical gifts ahead of time or use digital gifts that can be delivered once the game ends.

Set the spending limit and stealing rules before everyone joins. It also helps to decide how gifts will be revealed and who is responsible for sending each one afterward so the exchange does not become confusing.