Frank Bell Jr., known for his gentle soul, had the heart of a warrior.
“I remember the early days, him coming home late with wet feet — the days before they had (postal) trucks,” daughter Janet Bell Odom said about her father’s mail carrier experience. “He never complained.”
Bell died Jan. 6 from lung complications.
“My dad was 89 years old when he died; and with him, a part of history is dying,” his daughter said while talking about the unrecorded stories of ordinary people who fought for civil rights.
Bell began delivering mail for the U.S. Postal Service in 1951, one year after his marriage to Selena Williams.
As their family grew with the arrival of four children, Bell sometimes had to work more than one job to make ends meet.
Rising through the ranks, he became president of the San Antonio Chapter of the National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees, his daughter said.
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NAPFE, an African-American union, was created to defend workers against discrimination.
The most significant win during his tenure was the signing into law of the 1971 Postal Reorganization Bill, his daughter said.
The fight for fair treatment united black and white workers together and resulted in retroactive pay raises for all postal and federal employees along with the restructuring of the promotion system.
Odom remembers her family traveling to conventions and networking across the state. She also recalls the lessons she learned from her father.
“He wanted us to understand that we have a place in the world and society, “ Odom said. “We were an equal opportunity family. Liberation was in our home.”
After numerous promotions, Bell moved his family to Wharton, where he was sworn in as the 23rd postmaster of the Wharton Post Office on June 3, 1978.
After retiring in the mid-1980s, Bell and his family moved to San Antonio.
Bell who was always learning, had made a reputation for himself in the computer, electronics and air-conditioning fields. During his retirement years, he was appointed to three terms on the City of San Antonio Mechanical Board of Appeals, his daughter said.
Through the years, Bell also served Jacob’s Chapel United Methodist Church as a lay leader.
This was another arena in his fight for civil rights. He represented them during the 1968-69 unification of the Central Jurisdiction, a geographical conference composed of African-American members, with the rest of the membership of the United Methodist Church and the United Brethren Church, effectively ending the practice of segregation.
iwilgen@express-news.net