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Ernest McMillan Living History Program
Ernest McMillan Living History Program

Ernest McMillan Living History Program

Object number2019.001.0025
Date03/06/2019
ClassificationsOral Histories
Oral history interview subject Ernest McMillan Jr.
Oral history interviewer Stephen Fagin
ObjectOral history
Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumBorn digital (.mov file)
DimensionsDuration: 50 Minutes
Collections
DescriptionVideotaped Living History educational program with Ernest McMillan. An outspoken human rights activist, McMillan was attending Morehouse College in Atlanta at the time of the Kennedy assassination. While in Georgia, he met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and became active with the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee. McMillan later co-founded the Dallas chapter of SNCC and ultimately served more than three years in prison following a local civil rights demonstration. Program conducted as a distance learning educational program for Central High School, a juvenile detention facility in Los Angeles, California, moderated by Stephen Fagin, on March 6, 2019. The program is forty-nine minutes long.
Curatorial Commentary

Ernest McMillan is a longtime friend of The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. He recorded his first oral history in 2006, which may be viewed here: Ernest McMillian Oral History – Search mcmillan (Objects) – Search – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. Following this, he has participated in a number of public and educational programs over the years, including a 2006 reunion of Dallas SNCC activists (Call To Action: The SNCC Experience in Dallas); a 2013 Living History (Living History with Ernest McMillan); and most recently, a 2024 public program (In Conversation with Veteran Civil Rights Activist Ernest McMillan).

In addition, his late mother, beloved local activist Eva McMillan, recorded an oral history, which is available here: Eva McMillan Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. - Stephen Fagin, Curator  

In 2023, Ernest McMillan published two connected books: a memoir of his activism, Standing: One Man's Odyssey During the Turbulent '60s, and a book of poetry, Kneeling: Poems and Verses Transcending the Turbulent '60s. As of early 2025, signed copies of these publications are available in the Museum's online store: Standing: One Man’s Odyssey During the Turbulent ‘60s by Ernest McMill – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza and Kneeling: Poems and Verses Transcending the Turbulent ‘60s by Ernest M – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. - Stephen Fagin, Curator