Left to right: Breana James, Program Manager, Georgia Historical Society, and Solomon Nixon, Jr., Chief Funeral Director, LFD/LE, Frank and Solomon Nixon Funeral Home.

A new Georgia historical marker unveiled by the Georgia Historical Society (GHS), in Tifton, Georgia, recognizes Frank T. Nixon (1895-1996) and Solomon Nixon, Sr. (1928-1993), father and son business and community leaders who provided essential services to southwest Georgia’s Black communities during segregation and the Jim Crow era. 
 
The historical marker dedication was held at Frank and Solomon Nixon Funeral Home, the base from which the Nixon family built a legacy of Black entrepreneurship, civil rights leadership, and community service across Tift County. Dedicated in partnership with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Magnolia Lodge #87 F&AM Prince Hall Affiliated, and White Star Chapter #11, OES, the new historical marker commemorates their lasting contributions to Tifton.
 
“The Georgia Historical Society is pleased to work with the community sponsors and descendants of Frank T. Nixon and Solomon Nixon, Sr.,” said Breana James, Program Manager at GHS. “Leaders like Frank and Solomon Nixon fueled the Civil Rights Movement in their hometowns. This marker reminds us of their important and unique roles during the fight for civil and human rights.” 
 
Through their funeral home, ambulance service, grocery stores, lodging accommodations, and other businesses, Frank T. Nixon and Solomon Nixon, Sr., served Black residents across southwest Georgia at a time when segregation restricted access to many public services and businesses. The family also assisted participants in the Civil Rights Movement by providing support and resources during a pivotal period in Georgia history. 

 “It is truly an honor for my grandfather, Frank T. Nixon, and my father, Solomon Nixon, Sr., to be recognized with this historical marker,” said Solomon Nixon, Jr., Chief Funeral Director, LFD/LE, Frank and Solomon Nixon Funeral Home. “This honor memorializes the efforts, struggles, and triumphs of two men who were champions for their community and state. They were visionaries who possessed the strength and passion to use their businesses and influence to create opportunities for others to thrive.” 
 
The new historical marker illustrates the important role Black-owned businesses and community leaders played in sustaining communities across Georgia throughout the twentieth century. Through the Historical Marker Program, GHS offers the public an opportunity to experience Georgia’s history where it happened.
 
Speakers included Breana James, Program Manager, Georgia Historical Society; Mayor Julie Smith, City of Tifton; Commissioner Donnie Hester, District 1, Tift County Board of Commissioners; Dr. Elizabeth Medley, Associate Professor, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College; Solomon Nixon, Jr., Chief Funeral Director, LFD/LE, Frank and Solomon Nixon Funeral Home; and Solomon Nixon III, Nixon family member.  

The historical marker reads: 

Frank T. Nixon (1895-1996) and Solomon Nixon, Sr. (1928-1993) 

Frank T. Nixon and Solomon Nixon, Sr., father and son, used their businesses and influence in Tift County to serve southwest Georgia’s Black communities. In 1925 Frank co-founded Nixon-Parson-Wilson Undertaking Co., now Frank and Solomon Nixon Funeral Home. The Home also provided ambulance service to rural Black residents starting in the 1930s until the 1973 federal Emergency Medical Services Systems Act ended segregated services. Frank established Nixon Motel, Sunset Market, and Nixon Pool Room, raising access to public accommodations for South Tifton Black residents. Frank co-founded the Citizens Burial League, a regional membership-based burial insurance organization. During the Civil Rights Movement, Solomon supported Black-only schools, sheltered activists at the motel, and aided youth who then created the SCLC Tifton Youth Chapter. After the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Solomon founded STAC, which organized voter registration drives.
 
Erected by the Georgia Historical Society, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Magnolia Lodge #87 F&AM Prince Hall Affiliated, and White Star Chapter #11, OES Tifton, Georgia

For additional details about the Georgia Historical Society, please contact Keith Strigaro, Director of Public Relations and Communications, at 912.651.2125, ext. 153, or by email at kstrigaro@georgiahistory.com.