Biography
Donald Nicholas was a vice president of the Newark Teachers Union. The Daily Register of February 14, 1972 reports that he and fellow union leaders Carole Graves and William Troublefield left Essex County Jail the preceding day after completing 77-day terms for the 1970 teachers strike. This establishes release on February 13, 1972 and 77 days actually served, but does not establish the first admission day. The further three months mentioned in the report concerned Graves and is not assigned to him.
Donald Nicholas was a vice president of the Newark Teachers Union. The Daily Register of February 14, 1972 reports that he and fellow union leaders Carole Graves and William Troublefield left Essex County Jail the preceding day after completing 77-day terms for the 1970 teachers strike. This establishes release on February 13, 1972 and 77 days actually served, but does not establish the first admission day. The further three months mentioned in the report concerned Graves and is not assigned to him.
The Militant of May 7, 1971 reports that Donald Nicholas, a Newark Teachers Union vice president, was released on April 14 after being jailed since March 4 for violating an antistrike injunction. It names Carole Graves and Frank Fiorito alongside him and says the release enabled them to participate in negotiations. This 1971 custody episode is distinct from the later 77-day term for the 1970 strike that ended on February 13, 1972.
Derrick Morrison, Newark teachers union wins contract, The Militant, May 7, 1971, page 3.
The participant account The Anatomy of a Strike reports that Donald Nicholas was arrested on February 4, 1970, booked and released on $1,000 bail. Its honor roll also lists him among officers given six-month sentences with three months suspended. The booklet concerns the 1970 strike. This initial arrest and bail release are separate from the later 77-day prison term ending February 13, 1972; they do not establish continuous custody from the arrest date.
The Anatomy of a Strike, printed page 12 (PDF page 14); printed page 106 (PDF page 108), honor roll.
A chronology conflict within the booklet remains unresolved. The main narrative on printed page 12 dates Nicholas’s arrest and bail release to February 4, 1970. The reprinted ACLU account on printed page 89 instead dates arrest warrants to February 4 and places three unnamed union leaders’ first court appearance on the following morning. The accounts have not been reconciled; no exact structured arrest date is assigned from them.
The Anatomy of a Strike, reprinted ACLU report, printed page 89 (PDF page 91).
