"Sonny's Corner" is a regular column in Prairie Fire, featuring commentary on civil rights and justice issues. Our friend and Omaha colleague, Joseph P. "Sonny" Foster, died suddenly at age 54 in August 2005. He left an uncompleted agenda, as did many of our civil rights and justice mentors and heroes. We shall attempt to move forward on that unfinished agenda through this column.

By Ben Nelson

This may be “Sonny’s Corner” but what the column is really about is Sonny’s life and the impact it continues to have on other people, because everything Sonny did in life was to make sure others had all the opportunities available to them that he was able to carve out for himself.

Sonny Foster was my friend for more than 30 years, and I can truthfully say that during all that time he was never concerned with what his achievements did for him, but what his achievements could do for others.

I first met Sonny in 1973 when he and I served together on the Urban League Board in Omaha. Sonny was still a student at Creighton University and I was counsel to an insurance company.

Sonny loved to tell about my first Urban League meeting at the old Logan Fontenelle Center in Omaha. When the meeting ended and I went to drive home, I found, to my dismay, that someone had helped themselves to my battery.
Sonny got a lot of good laughs out of that story as he told it for years to come. He would say, “We never expected to see him again!”

But I came back and a lasting friendship began.

In 1989, 16 years after my battery turned up missing, Sonny and I teamed up when I decided to run for governor of Nebraska. No one ever expected us to win … and we never expected to lose! And we didn’t! It was his first time to manage a statewide campaign and my first time as a candidate for office.

Of this victory, the Omaha World-Herald said, in an editorial after Sonny died, that “Foster put his stamp on the political map of Nebraska by the start of the 21st Century - not only because of his assistance in planting Ben Nelson firmly in the political firmament, but also in his steadfast efforts to make the Democratic Party a force in his North Omaha base.”

In life, Sonny always served as an inspiration to many poor and disadvantaged minorities, especially in North Omaha, who looked up to him. He was a role model for young people who saw in him what they could be and, indeed, Sonny had many fine qualities I hope young people will emulate.

What are some of those qualities?

Sonny was brilliant and perceptive. I wouldn’t have won the race for governor in 1990 without his brilliant game plan.

Sonny was loyal. Never have I seen such loyalty in the political world.

Sonny was totally trustworthy.

Sonny was honest. He would tell you what you needed to know, not what he thought you wanted to hear. He was very direct about it. I used to kid him by saying, “I prefer to be told that my idea is unlikely to work rather than ‘who came up with that crazy idea’.”

Sonny was passionate. Everyone he knew had a story about how strongly he felt about each and every cause. When he cared about something, you knew it, and he wasn’t bashful in telling you how he felt. He told you what he thought, sometimes in colorful terms. Most of those terms cannot be repeated here. Some thought Sonny lacked patience. I see it the other way around. His dedication, his devotion to his work, his dogged perseverance manifested themselves in bold and bombastic ways.

Sonny did not suffer foolishness. He possessed the ability to sort things out. His focus was on getting things done.

Sonny was compassionate. He had a soft, caring side. I think of all those constituents who benefited from his good work in our office and how he cared about their problems.

Sonny was dependable, responsible and competent. No task was ever too big, too important or too small for him.

He often met my plane on my weekly return trips from Washington. He could have assigned it to someone else. I miss those 20-minute rides from the airport to my home that gave us uninterrupted time to talk, to catch up, to share a few laughs. I loved to hear him laugh and can still hear it to this day. It was a unique, infectious belly laugh that filled the room with his persona and being.

Sonny was known far and wide as a political guru. I am the first to admit that I wouldn’t be where I am after 15 years in elective office without Sonny and his unique political skills. He had a political sense unmatched in Nebraska. He heard the rumblings long before the storms. He didn’t need to poll anyone to determine the mood of the people. He just knew. His instincts were right on. That’s why people sought his opinion and listened when he spoke.

His political strategy was to make sure that your public views were truly your heartfelt values and that these views were presented appropriately.

When others were trying to influence you to change your views or values, he would always say, “Do what you think is right.”

1990. “You’re the candidate. Do what you think is right.”

1994. “You’re the governor. Do what you think is right.”

2005. Our last discussion following a meeting with constituents: “You’re the senator. Do what you think is right.”

Sonny left an indelible impression on everyone he met. A day after he died in 2005 I got an e-mail from a young TV reporter who had worked in Omaha for a time before moving to another market. He wrote, “A few years ago, Sonny took time out of his schedule to talk with me about working in politics. I walked away from that evening knowing Sonny loved his job, meeting and working for all Nebraskans and representing Governor and Senator Nelson. I’ll never forget his guidance, career advice and passion for his job.”

Sonny would have been flattered to be remembered like that. What was an everyday meeting for Sonny made a lasting impression on this young man.

Sonny’s life was rich with firsts. He was the first black American elected to be student body president at Creighton University in 1973.

He was the first black American elected to the Omaha Board of Education by district.

He was also the first black American to run a statewide campaign in Nebraska.

He became Governor Bob Kerrey’s Deputy Commissioner of Labor for the state of Nebraska.

He was a legislative aide to Representative John Cavanaugh in Washington, D.C.

When I was governor, Sonny served in my administration in Lincoln. When I was U.S. senator, Sonny became my district manager in Omaha.

Yes, Sonny broke a number of racial barriers, but it is important to note that his long and distinguished career in public service would be no less notable if his skin were white, purple or polka-dotted. He lived Martin Luther King’s dream. Sonny Foster was not judged by the color of his skin. Sonny Foster was judged by the content of his character.
Dr. King also said, “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” And serve Sonny did. And just as he was judged by the content of his character, he was also judged by the strength of his abilities as a capable, hard-working and dedicated public servant.

Sonny had many significant accomplishments but the legacy of Sonny Foster - the way he would want to be remembered - is in the ground he broke for those who would follow. Because in a very real sense, Sonny lived his life so others could enjoy their own success.

Sonny definitely had a positive impact on people while he was alive, but he will continue to do so long after he’s gone thanks to efforts such as Prairie Fire and “Sonny’s Corner.” Sonny lit the torch and passed it on. It is up to us to never let that torch go out because of apathy or inaction. Sonny set the standard - it is for others, for us, to now keep.