Civil rights message resonates with students

Speaker Patti Miller describes her experiences 
working in Mississippi during the civil rights movement
at the MLK Convocation on Monday.
(Jason Eck)

Patti Miller, who as a young college student helped fight for civil rights in Mississippi in 1964, made a significant impression on students during the MLK Convocation on Monday at Waldorf College.

“The decisions I made at your age stayed with me the rest of my life,” Miller said. She grew up as a white girl in rural Iowa who knew nothing about the civil rights movement. Later, she joined fellow college students to help with voting rights and education efforts in the South in 1964.


Miller received shocking news on the first day she arrived in Meridian, Miss., as three fellow civil rights workers had died at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. It was crushing news, she said, adding that she and other students pressed on for what they believed in, knowing there was a possibility they could die. Miller also discussed how she later worked in Chicago with Martin Luther King Jr. in an effort to end slums.

"After listening to Patti Miller's story today, it left me quite speechless because she actually got to work with MLK and help him out," said Kelsey Heintz, a Waldorf sophomore who is majoring in physical education. "After listening to all the things she went through, I thought it was quite crazy the stuff she did and how she helped the children out and handed out brochures. Yet she never knew what was going to happen to herself; but she took the chance."

Senior Kenny Olson, who is majoring in humanities with a religion minor, said Miller’s message was inspiring. Olson, who is Filipino, said he especially appreciated her story as a minority himself.

He explained the lesson that resonates with him the most is the continued efforts needed to bring about greater equality in the United States.

“How far we’ve come is a huge deal,” Olson said. But, he added, the country has a lot of work to do in accepting people for who they are and not judging them by the color of their skin.

He said he was impressed by Miller’s willingness to work in the South during the civil rights movement, how humbled she became by the community around her and her ability to reach people during times of struggle.

For photos from the MLK Convocation, click here.