Standing

The key image of this book cover is a black-and-white photo of a diverse Civil Rights-era crowd of Black men and women with expressions ranging from determined to pensive. A cool design twist makes this photo look like it's pieced together from three stacked, slightly misaligned horizontal segments, suggesting a journey full of twists and turns. Above the image, the title is in huge, bold white letters on black: "STANDING". Below that, on a grey band, the subtitle says: "ONE MAN’S ODYSSEY THROUGH THE TURBULENT ’60S". The bottom is a clear white band with the author's name in large black letters: "ERNEST McMILLAN".

Ernest McMillan, 2023

This memoir of one man’s coming-of-age through the Civil Rights movement follows his childhood innocence of white supremacy during the 50’s to his awakening as a full-time organizer in the deep south, and the petrifying costs he was bound to pay.Standing serves up an authentic memoir of a young Black boy growing up in a highly segregated environment: the heart of Dallas, Texas, during the era where segregation was the law of the land. Ernest McMillan came of age within an loving family and a nurturing community, virtually shielded from the outside–rampaging tides of white supremacy and a caste system squarely based on color. Dallas is often portrayed as a city in which the Civil Rights movement bypassed, but those claims are mythical in word and deed.

McMillan’s emergence into manhood fighting for equal rights in the “Black Belt” South and his return to his birthplace to challenge the status quo of the white power structure brought him face to face with forces that were dead set on wiping him off the planet entirely, or imprisoning him in perpetuity.

Ernest McMillan was a veteran human rights activist with a history of working through the 60’s in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and throughout the 80’s with the National Black United Front and the United League of Mississippi. McMillan served as the Chairman of the Dallas SNCC from 1967-1969.

He had extensive experience in counseling both youth and adults. Additionally, he worked successfully in management positions involved with the delivery of social services, organizing and planning resources, and coordinating activities to meet specific objectives. In 1984, McMillan founded the Fifth Ward Enrichment Program, a non-profit, community-based, youth development initiative. He served as its Chief Executive Officer, and after twenty-three years at the helm, he became its Executive Coach and Senior Adviser. The FWEP, (now UEI) Urban Enrichment Institute continues to operate in Houston’s inner city as an effective support and intervention system for young African American and Hispanic males to this day.

In Dallas, Texas, McMillan volunteered extensively with several local and international efforts including the Dallas Peace Center, IFCO/ Pastors for Peace, and as a 2011 delegate to Witness for Peace’ Human Rights Delegation to Honduras. He became the Director of Educational Programs at Youth Believing in Change (YBC) and served as Curator for Community Action with Cara Mia Theatre Company where he worked to connect arts with the community and develop avenues to foster and engage multigenerational, multicultural bridges for community uplift.

DETAILS

Title: Standing: One Man’s Odyssey During the Turbulent ‘60s

Author: M. Ernest McMillan

Publisher: La Reunion Publishing

Publication Date: 2023

Page Count: 221

Details: Hardcover.