Patti Miller Oral History
Object number2022.001.0060
Date08/25/2022
ClassificationsOral Histories
Oral history interview subject
Patti Miller
Oral history interviewer
Stephen Fagin
ObjectOral history
Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumBorn digital (.m4a file), Born digital (.mp4 file), Born digital (.vtt file)
DimensionsDuration: 124 Minutes
Collections
DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with Patti Miller. As an Iowa college student in 1964, Miller volunteered for the Mississippi Freedom Summer project and attended the funeral of slain civil rights worker James Chaney in Meridian, Mississippi. In 1966, she joined the staff of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) during the Chicago Freedom Movement campaign.
Interview conducted via Zoom on August 25, 2022 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is two hours and four minutes long.
Curatorial CommentaryIn 2012, Patti Miller founded the Keeping History Alive Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that "provides stimulating educational programs and opportunities throughout the state of Iowa to keep the history of the Civil Rights Movement alive." As of 2025, Miller remains Executive Director of the foundation. More information on the Keeping History Alive Foundation may be found on their website: Keeping History Alive Foundation Civil Rights History.
In 2015, Miller produced and directed the Iowa PBS documentary, Iowans Return to Freedom Summer. The full film may be viewed on the University of Iowa Libraries website: Iowans Return to Freedom Summer, Patti Miller – @Iowa. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
As of 2025, the Museum has been honored to record oral histories with more than twenty former civil rights activists affiliated with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in the 1960s. A rare 1964 SCLC "Handbook for Freedom Army Recruits," outlining the organization's code of discipline, objectives, rules for protesting and prison and other topics, may be accessed in the Julia Knecht Collection in the Museum's online collections database (1995.012.2399): Southern Christian Leadership Conference Handbook for Freedom Army Recruits – Search southern christian (Objects) – Search – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
