Black History Month: Dr. Dalton Miller-Jones, Civil Rights Activist

SUNRIVER, Ore. (KTVZ) — As KTVZ News celebrates Black History Month, we shine a spotlight on Central Oregonians who have made substantive achievements and contributions to Black individuals and their communities.

In our first Black History Monday spotlight is Dr. Dalton Miller-Jones, a retired Portland State University professor emeritus.

Born and raised in the South in the 1940s to parents Clarence and Pauline Jones, Dr. Miller-Jones and his five siblings called a number of cities home, including Memphis. He says even though he experienced a wonderful childhood, oppression optics like segregation were front and center, rearing their ugly head.

“I experienced segregation," he told me. "You could only drink out of the colored water fountains. When we went to the movies, there was a black theater that we predominantly went to that was just regular, but if we wanted to see a first-run movie, we had to go to the white movie theater. And you get your ticket and then you move around to the back and then you go up outside stairs, and you entered in through a door to the balcony.

"When you got on the bus to travel, you had to sit in the rear, in the Black section,” said Dr. Miller-Jones.

Dr. Miller-Jones’ father, who never graduated high school, wanted his children to receive a prestigious education.

Dr. Miller-Jones would go on to attend Rutgers and Cornell universities, where he would receive his Masters and Doctorate. His work became instrumental for black students.

“In 1969, the Black students took over the Student Union, Willard Street Hall, after failure to get Cornell to admit and commit, that they didn't have any representation in their curriculum around African peoples," Dr. Miller-Jones said.

"The urban problems were all being espoused by white professors. The students sent me in to talk with the president and provost about what their demands were. I said, 'Their demands are absolutely reasonable, and you need to grant it to them,' and so they agreed,” said Dr. Miller-Jones.

In the 1960s, during the civil rights movement, Dr. Miller-Jones organized and became the director of the Northern Student Movement in Boston, where he led the nation’s first citywide boycott of public schools in Boston.

Dr. Miller-Jones said, “I went before the faculty Senate and before the Council of Deans and said, 'We really need to have a master's degree in Africana Studies,' before we had a major. Why? Because we're trying to make the message. There's so much we don't know, we don't understand. We need to begin to build a body of knowledge and a series of works and conferences where we can dispute issues of ourselves.”

After moving to Sunriver in the 1990s with his wife, Dr. Dalton Miller-Jones continued his civil rights work with organizations like the Central Oregon Diversity Project and the Father’s Group, geared toward serving under-represented individuals.

He talks about the importance of knowing your history.

“Black History Month is about living history. It is not just recognizing some ancient African emperor, which we have," Dr. Miller-Jones said. "And that's important, because we didn't just fall out of the sky into America. We have a culture. We are people of African descent. And it is the systems of how we understand our experiences - that's culture, the meaning systems.”  

What a distinguished career Dr. Miller-Jones has had, a great example of Black Excellence.

He continues his work in education, civil rights and organizing for racial justice here in Central Oregon.