Local officials are looking back on the life of civil rights activist Lord Nickens. He died Friday, due to complications from pneumonia.  He was 99 years old.   
 
Kevin Lollar, the executive director of Big Brothers, Big Sisters said he remembered when he went to Nickens for guidance when dealing with the tough issue to unveil a plaque in front of Frederick City Hall that explained the context of the 1857 "Dred Scott Decision.  "We were sitting down and talking about it.  He said the best thing to do is to leave it there because it's a part of our history," Lollar said.  Lollar said Nickens spent a significant amount of time trying to do the right thing for racial relations in Frederick.   
 
Funeral services for Nickens will be held at noon on Saturday at the International Community Church, off Hayward Road, in Frederick.  A viewing is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Jackson Chapel United Methodist Church, 5609 Ballenger Creek Pike, Frederick.  Another viewing will be held from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday at International Community Church. 
 
 
Frederick County Senator Ron Young says Lord Nickens experienced his share of racial intolerance and discrimination. But he wasn't a man that would back down.  "He roused some people.  But I don't think you would stand up for things you believe in and that it doesn't rouse some people.  It takes people with courage to do that.  Lord was threatened many times," said Senator Young.  Young and Nickens had been friends for 45 years. Senator Young will be a guest speaker at the funeral.
 
In 1984 Nickens was targeted in a murder attempt by the KKK.  He won a lawsuit the following year against the Frederick County Government for issuing public rally permits to groups like the Ku Klux Klan which barred black people from attending these events.