Photo: Charles Nilon, CU Boulder's First Black Faculty Member in 1963
September 1963
Several months after the March on Washington, CU professor Charles Nilon spoke at a civil rights demonstration on campus outside of the UMC. The first Black faculty member at the university, Nilon worked passionately alongside his wife, Mildred — the university’s first Black librarian — to make CU more equitable and inclusive.
As a friend and mentee of the Nilons, Tom Windham (PhDPsych’75) said in a 2017 College of Education article: “When [the Nilons] saw you, they really saw you. They wanted you to know that just by being who you are, you deserved respect and opportunity.â€
Photo the University of Colorado Boulder Publicity Offices collection, COU: 3331, Box 110, Item 8011, Rare and Distinctive Collections, University of Colorado Boulder Libraries