Civil rights leader and local businessman Francis Guess has died. The Nashville native was a pioneer who worked for racial justice at the federal, state and local levels.

Guess came from the old school of Nashville orators, demonstrating a bluntness that could leave audiences speechless.

That talent was on full display last October, when he took part in a panel discussion on the newly founded Mayor’s Office of New Americans. 

Guess didn’t sugarcoat how hard its job would be. He predicted clashes between Nashville’s long-time residents and recent immigrants.

“And I think the office, in this instance, has a responsibility to figure out how we as a community are going to manage those tensions, are going to keep our communities from not just being a melting pot, but becoming a cauldron which comes to a boil and blows up,” Guess thundered.

The panel sat stunned for a moment. Moderator Frank Daniels III finally broke the silence by quipping he had left them with a “wonderful vision.” The audience laughed.

But Guess had cut straight to the point, said Mohamed-Shukri
Hassan, an immigrant rights activist.

“That’s why Francis Guess will be missed, because he brought that day on that panel … he provided a perspective that needed to be said.”

Guess served on the Tennessee Human Rights Commission for 30 years and was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

He was also the first African-American to serve as the state’s Labor commissioner.