When Frank Neff sits cross-legged on his living room floor, comfy in slacks, a T-shirt, and a sweat shirt, nearly bald head shining and eyes sparkling, he conjures comparisons to a Buddha.

Though he's surrounded by protest signs, Neff's peaceful countenance and political fervor don't seem contradictory. Maybe that's because his gentle spirit and passion merge so nicely and make him so approachable.

Neff, an 85-year-old Lenexa resident, hands out a post-career business card that reads: Retired, But An Activist. And he is an enduring example of activism—whatever your political leanings.

Primed as a populist
Franklin Warner Neff was raised in Fort Wayne, Ind., the son of a man who was born and raised on a farm and who became a university center director.

"My dad was always a champion of the underdog, so that had a big impact on me," Neff recalled. "Dad would talk about the hard lot of the farmers. He was a supporter of FDR, and he would argue with my uncles about politics. He had harsh words for big business."

This upbringing, all about support for working people, stuck with Neff even though it didn't immediately burst through into action.

Neff earned a bachelor's degree in government and a master's in secondary education from Indiana University. After teaching in the public schools in Indiana for six years, he moved to New York, earning a doctorate in education from Columbia University, focusing in social psychology and group process. He and his wife, Jo, met in college and have been married for 61 years.

After earning the doctorate, Neff worked at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research for nine years. Then, in 1967, he and Jo moved to Kansas City, where for three years he worked with the Mid-Continent Regional Education Laboratory (MCREL), now located in Denver. The goal of the federally funded organization was to translate educational research into educational practice. One of the projects he worked on was Cooperative Urban Teacher Education, or CUTE. He left MCREL and joined the Institute for Community Studies, which in 1975 became part of the University of Missouri–Kansas City. Eventually he became an associate professor of education and faculty member of the Institute for Human Development at UMKC, specializing in educational projects in developmental disabilities.

Retirement and taking it to the streets
Neff retired from his professional career early in 1991. Professor emeritus at an esteemed university, well-to-do, with a cozy home, a loving spouse, and adoring kids, he could so easily have settled in for what we like to call "me time."

Instead, the principles his dad had imbued in him flared up.

"Until then, I had mostly just been a letter-writer," he said.

Throughout his adult life he had drafted letters to people in power about issues, such as Social Security, that he cared about.

But now he started to think of greater possibilities. First, he supported the efforts of a local man who was exploring an Independence Party for Kansas. That's what sensitized Neff to the almost insurmountable difficulties that non-incumbents face when they run for election.

In 1993, 1995, and 1996, when the international trade agreements were being negotiated, Neff joined other local activists in traveling to Washington, D.C., to make their voices heard. Those forays connected him with lots of people nationwide who were concerned about trade issues.

Soon he became interested in other issues, including those addressed by members of AARP, in which he holds membership. He's also a member of the Johnson County League of Women Voters and the small but passionate Greater Kansas City Fair Trade Coalition. Mostly, though, he's not a joiner; he's a doer.

When the World Trade Organization scheduled its big meeting in Washington State in 1999, Neff was there, participating in the Battle of Seattle, which was labeled "the protest of the century."

And in the intervening dozen years, he has expanded his concerns and tactics.

If you drive by the Plaza's popular horse fountain on a Sunday afternoon, Neff may be among the stalwart men and women hoisting their educational protest signs for all to see.

He marches. He gives speeches and presentations to audiences such as the Kansas City Greens, the Kansas City Kansas Community College, and some Great Decisions sessions at Johnson County Community College. He has testified to state legislative committees. He participates in Peace and Justice Teach-Ins at Unity Temple on the Plaza.

And he organizes the outpouring of views. For contacting Congress, Neff's medium of choice is the fax machine.
"You can write a note to a member of Congress on your computer, print it, sign it, and fax it," he explained. "It's easy."

And these days his focus is on gathering information about what's coming down the pike regarding health care reform and organizing groups to influence Congress about it.

"I try to corral the information, then help put together something that's easy for people to send to Congress and voice their opinion," he said.

A primer for activists
Frank Neff is aware that many people applaud his activism but refrain from being active themselves.

"People say to me, 'I'm so glad you're saying those things!'" Neff said.

He acknowledges that one obstacle for many would-be activists is finding the money for their activities.

"Going to Seattle or Washington, D.C., for a protest does cost money," he said.

When asked to point to beacons of hope for other activists, Neff grinned and shook his head.

"I always encourage people to become activists," he said, "but I wish I could find a way to make it sound like the fun it often is."

For Neff, activism has to continue, whether he's hopeful or not.

"I couldn't tolerate not doing something," Neff said. "I have to be active. And I continue to see things pop up that I find encouraging. For example, I'll read about a businessman who consults with his employees and engages in participative management. I'll read about quality circles in Japan or GM's Saturn plant. I don't think activism is crushable or can be eliminated. But we'll have to find alternative ways of thinking and talking about it."

Neff advocates keeping one's eyes on the prize.

"You have to keep working for what you believe in," he said.
And he believes that all of us should be activists in some way, however small, about the things we believe in. One way to get started is intentionally to gather information from many sources.

"That gives you alternative perspectives," he said. "It's too easy to get all your information from one source. And if the news environment with which you surround yourself is constantly negative, you will believe in that negativity. We all need to present our opinions and our wants civilly, in a way that squares with democracy."

Neff has thought deeply about what actions yield change, and he believes that difficult change comes "when people are in the street and blocking the normal course of activity, when people are ready to take some punishment."

But it bothers Neff that we have to get to the point where somebody is willing to engage in violence.

What would he consider an effective protest?

"If we could get a bunch of white-haired ladies to surround the capitol in D.C., so nobody could get in or out until something specific was done, I would hope it would happen!"

A few of Frank Neff's views

• On revenge: "After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Ira Harritt, of the local American Friends Service Committee, promoted this mantra: 'Don't focus on revenge, but on justice.' That's the origin of the sign I made: Revenge breeds revenge breeds revenge… Ira is probably the biggest influence for peace in our community.
  

"The same is true for the recent killings in Arizona. We need discussion that does not incite violence!"

• On health care reform: "They'll try to kill the health care reform bill piece by piece, but so many people will be affected. Opponents may go after the mandate stating that all Americans must have insurance."

On NAFTA: "The North American Free Trade Agreement helped encourage trade that resulted in cheap labor, as with the maquiladoras, which are manufacturing or export assembly plants in other countries producing parts and products for the United States. Mexican labor is inexpensive and, because of NAFTA, taxes and custom fees are almost nonexistent, which enhances corporate profits. Maquiladoras are owned by U.S., Japanese, European, and other countries. Some could be considered sweatshops, composed of young women working for as little as 50 cents an hour for up to 10 hours a day, six days a week.

"Because of NAFTA, there's more cash flowing because people in factories send money to their home countries, but they often live like slave laborers.

"The Zapatistas in southeastern Mexico took up arms when NAFTA went into effect because they believed that cheap corn from the United States would ruin them. Life for most Mexicans has been harder and more demeaning since NAFTA took effect."

On international trade agreements in general: "International trade agreements are supposed to be made to benefit the peoples of the nations making those agreements. Unfortunately, in the past several decades, U.S. negotiators have been making, perhaps forcing, agreements which increase the wealth and power of corporate leaders and other privileged elites while making destitute the lives of millions of citizens who do the actual work that provides the wealth.

"International trade agreements reach right down into our communities, and they take away local, state, and national authority—in a truly democratic country, the authority of the people."

• On democracy: "It seems to me that wherever something concentrates power, it is dampening democracy. Corporate mergers mean fewer people making decisions over bigger issues. What is democratic about a corporation? Their structure is such that they typically have a greater tendency toward an autocratic system, not a democratic system.
  

"When I was young, I thought the best way to ensure democracy was to vote for good candidates. But how does one get to be a candidate? I've come to realize that to be able to run for office, you must have made some accommodations with wealth."

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