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Brown vs Board of Education
This was a Supreme Court case that rejected the “separate-but-equal” doctrine. This doctrine was first established in the 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy vs. Ferguson, which legally upheld racial segregation in public facilities, if the facilities were equal. In Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to segregate students based on race in public schools. However, this ruling didn’t specific how schools should be integrated. -
Umstead Committee on Education
Governor William B. Umstead of North Carolina considered the ruling to be “a clear and serious invasion of the rights of the sovereign states” as stated in a speech given on May 27, 1954. Before his death, he created the Umstead Committee on Education. This nineteen person cohort (sixteen white and three black) recommended that “the mixing of races forthwith in the public schools throughout the state cannot be accomplished and should not be attempted”. -
Advisory Committee on Education
Governor Luther H. Hodges endorsed the Umstead committee’s recommendation, removed the black members, and added six additional people to the committee. It was renamed the Advisory Committee on Education and chaired by Senator Thomas Pearsall. They created the Pearsall Plan which complicated the student transfer process (Pupil Assignment Act), provided grants to families who chose segregated private schools over public schools, and implemented other measures to prevent desegregation. -
Woolworth Sit In
Four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. Franklin McCain, David Richmond, Ezell Blair Jr. and Joseph McNeil’s peaceful protest sparked a movement in North Carolina and across the country that spread to 55 cities. Several months later, Woolworth’s and other dining facilities in the South began integrating. -
K. Millner was born in Reidsville, Rockingham Country, NC
Reidsville is less than 30 minutes from Greensboro. Historically and currently, the population is mainly white (74%) and, among those who are religious, evangelical (35%). He described his upbringing as “pretty segregated”. He attended black congregations in the Primitive Baptist tradition, despite the many churches. His interactions with white people were rare and only occurred at school, where he was a minority. Keith recalls, “I didn't know anyone who wasn't from Rockingham County" -
Guilford College Integrates
James McCorkle enrolls at Guilford College as their first African American student. He majored in Chemistry and minored in Education. He graduated in 1966. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. This legislation prohibits discrimination at agencies that receive federal funds, at work, at public facilities, and at public accommodations. It also strengthened school desegregation and the enforcement of voting rights. -
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
The Supreme Court Case Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education declared that busing students was an appropriate way to promote integration. The result was Charlotte, NC being known as the “the city that made desegregation work” (for a period of time) and paved the way for more integration via bussing throughout the state. -
K. Millner Attends Guilford College from 1978 - 1982
He was initially dismayed at the behavior of the northern Black students and frustrated to be "lumped in" with them based on solely race. He recognized shared values in the rural southern white students (such as self-reliance, personal responsibility, and an emphasis on family) that he attributes to a shared regional upbringing, but also a shared religious background. He ultimately built more friendships with students who shared his background over students who shared his race. -
San Francisco in the 1980s
In 1982 - the first Gay Games were held in San Francisco
In 1983/84 - the first bisexual political organization was founded and they organized the first bisexual rights rally
In 1984 - bisexual men were finally included by the SF Dept. of Public Health in statistics on AIDS, due to activist David Lourea San Francisco has long had the largest LGBTQ+ population in the country and in the 80's was grappling with the AIDS/HIV crisis. -
Jesse Jackson Democratic Primary and Presidential Bid, Key Voting Experience for Keith Millner
Jackson ran against Walter Mondale and Gary Hart. This election was K's first time voting in an election with a Black candidate and he remembers it as voting "against" his race. Among K's black contemporaries, Jesse Jackson was the clear choice because of race and what he represented. K voted for Gary Hart instead. Hart had a shared rural working class upbringing, was an evangelical Nazarene, and more "qualified". He felt more aligned with Hart than Jackson, despite race. -
K. Millner Moves to San Francisco, First Interaction with Many New Ideas
This was his first time in a city and he lived in a majority LGBTQ+ area. He knew very little of San Francisco before moving there for a job at Bristol Meyers. He was introduced to lifestyles and perspectives he had previously not known existed, specifically the LGBTQ+ population. He was initially uncomfortable, but grew to be more accepting and open-minded. He noted that most people from his background don't get to have similar experiences and he thinks that's significant in his development. -
First Managerial Role at North Carolina National Bank
Another key moment for K was when he recognized how important and ingrained his rural southern evangelical values were. This managerial role was the first in which he was responsible for hiring. He realized that he was more likely to hire someone (without asking where they were from) if he recognized shared values, such as self-reliance, a hard worker, and an emphasis on family. He associates those values with a rural southern Christian experience - like his own. -
K Joins Impact Church
Spurred by a desire for more community, a continued exploration of spirituality, and his marriage to Charmaine Ward (who was already a member), Keith joined Impact Church. It is a Methodist church with a pastor who was raised and trained in the Baptist tradition. It is predominantly Black, but has a strong emphasis on diversity - which he appreciates. This marked his shift from the evangelical community to the Black Protestant community. -
Evangelicals and Voting, 2016 Election
According to the Pew Research Center... 36% of all registered votes are evangelicals 81% of white evangelicals supported Trump in the 2016 election Black evangelicals are grouped with Black protestants in Pew polling. 96% of Black protestants voted for Clinton in the 2016 election, but we don't know how many of them were Black evangelicals or were Black people with evangelical backgrounds. -
2016 Presidential Election, K Millner Voting
Keith voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. This put him at odds with the rural white southern evangelicals he feels/felt aligned with. However, at that point in his life, he no longer identified as Baptist (evangelical) but "Christian" or "non denominational". That put him in the Pew Research Center category of "Black Protestants". In which case, he did vote in alignment with his larger racial and religious group - since they overwhelmingly voted for Hillary. -
Philando Castile, Republican Response, and a Personal Shift for K
After the murder of Philando Castile, K felt increased fear overall and anger at the Republican party due to their responses to the injustice. Although the Republican party's emphasis on family values and fiscal policies aligned with his beliefs, he couldn't look past their racism and hypocrisy. He stopped identifying as "fiscally conservative, but socially liberal." By this point, he was already voting as a Democrat, but it was a still a shift for him. Race took priority in a new way. -
Murder of Philando Castile
Officer Jeronimo Yanez pulled over Castile and his family because they "just look like people that were involved in a robbery." Yanez shot Castile seven times, after Castile began reaching for his ID. Castile was in possession of a legally owned firearm. After Yanez killed Castile, he was acquitted of the second degree manslaughter and dangerous discharge of a firearm charges. He was then fired by the City of Saint Anthony.
