Willie Nolden

NOLDEN, Mr. Willie, Jr. "Sokita" - Age 69, passed away Saturday, December 20, 2008 at Hurley Medical Center. Family hour 10AM Saturday, December 27, 2008 at New Jerusalem Full Gospel Baptist Church, 1035 E. Carpenter Rd., with funeral service commencing at 11AM, Bishop Odis A. Floyd officiating. Interment Great Lakes National Cemetery, G-4200 Belford Rd., Holly, MI. Friends and pallbearers will assemble at the church 10AM Saturday. Mr. Nolden will lie in state in the Chapel of Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home, 906 W. Flint Park Blvd., and may be viewed from 1PM-8PM Friday. Mr. Willie “Sokita” Nolden, Jr. was born March 29, 1939 in Valley Park, Mississippi, to Willie Nolen and Edna Skinner. Sokita moved to Flint at the age of ten months. He spent his entire life in Flint with the exception of four years in the United State Air Force and two years at Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C. Sokita retired from General Motors in 1999 after 26 ½ years of service as a Human Resource Development Coordinator. Every once in awhile the Creator sends us one of those individuals whose purpose it seems is to serve as a shining example to the rest of us. These individuals usually possess certain traits or attributes in much larger quantities than the average guy. Willie “Sokita” Nolden was one of those individuals. The trait he personified was sheer guts, his primary attribute was unbridled intestinal fortitude. Frederick Douglas once said, “nothing happens without a demand.” Whether Sokita was a Frederick Douglas scholar or not is anybody’s guess. What is certain is that he espoused that philosophy throughout his adult life. Sokita became a warrior for his people at a very early age. He was outspoken in an era when most of us were afraid to speak out about the conditions and the behaviors that relegated African Americans to second class citizenship. Whenever “Soak” got an opportunity to express his outrage, his indignation, he seized the time. Such was the case when he helped to quell the riots in Flint in 1967 by negotiating the release of over 100 young Black Men who had been arrested as a result of the racial turmoil. Sokita and his fellow Brougham members took to the streets to quiet the storm, inevitably preventing a catastrophe, like that in Detroit, from occurring in Flint. Such was the case when he participated in the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968 and the subsequent Poor People’s march in Washington, D.C. Sokita and eight other Brougham Club members were the only representatives from Flint at the march. The group participated in Resurrection City while in D.C., a makeshift city of shanties symbolizing the plight of poor people in America, by erecting their own shanty. While in the nation’s capital, Sokita spoke with National Urban Coalition officials about the possibility of establishing a branch in Flint. The Urban Coalition of Greater Flint was established in 1968. He was also instrumental in establishing the Heart in the City program, another program established to help inner city youth. Sokita also served as an elected representative to the Model Cities Citizen’s Joint Council. When he wasn’t demanding or advocating, he was inspiring. He continued to encourage and inspire as long as he could breathe. His legacy, however, will live on. Willie “Sokita” Nolden was immortalized in the book “Telling Our Stories: Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement in Flint” published by the Flint Colorline Project, March 2007. Mr. Willie “Sokita” Nolden, Jr. leaves to cherish his memory: wife of 46 years, Judith “Chick” Nolden; 3 sons, Anthony Cobbin, Bryant and Corey Nolden; 5 grandchildren, Anthony (Anitra) Torns, Darnell and Terrell Jones, Tiona Southall and Toni Cobbin; step-granddaughter, Nikkia Thomas; 10 great-grandchildren including special great-grandson, Armonti Bellamy; sister, Earlene DeShazor; 2 aunts, Roxanne Sims and Mary Gray; 2 nephews, Eugene Pharms and Vanthony (Gloria) McMullan; 4 nieces, Darlene DeShazor, Roxanne Pringle, Shirletta Murray and special niece, Lanita (Melvin) Murray-Marion; numerous great nephews and nieces; 2 sisters-in-law, Lucille McMullan and Shirley Murray; many relatives and friends including the Skinner, Joyce, Jones, Taylor, Cobbin, Pippen families and the Liberty Christian Outreach Ministry (LCOM) of which he was a member for the last seven years, friends, Al Adams, Robert Partee, Elton Denson, Lewis Ford, Mertis Washington, Bill Weiss, Sam Hareskins, Big O, and others too numerous to mention. Mr. Nolden was preceded in death by his parents; several aunts; 3 nephews; 2 brothers-in-law; and good friend, Arnold Smiley. The family would like to express special thanks to Charles Winfrey for all he did, LCOM, and to Dr. Minasian and Dr. Rode for their untiring efforts and the staff of nurses at Hurley Medical Center CCU 4th floor.

Willie Nolden

March 29, 1969 - December 20, 2008