As a high school freshman,
Igalious “Ike” Mills ’77 chose
to stand up and be counted.
With integration in place,
Mills was one of only a few
African-American students
attending Central Heights
High School in Nacogdoches.
Soon after the assassination of
Martin Luther King Jr., Mills began
educating his classmates and teachers
about the struggle for civil
rights. Few understood why people were
marching and rioting in the streets. Mills felt
compelled to share the story of black
Americans with those at his school.
Now, his experience is among those told
online at www.voicesofcivilrights.org, an
AARP project highlighting stories of the civil
rights movement.
Under the headline “The Principal Told Me Not To Get
Involved,” Mills recalls that his principal, who also was the
basketball coach, said he was “too good of a basketball player
to get caught up in that type of situation.” Mills believed that
if African-Americans were good enough to play basketball for
his high school, then African-Americans were good enough to
teach there as well. At the time, no black teachers were on the
faculty.
Mills was able to tutor fellow students and his teachers on
black history – a subject not covered in his textbooks. Because
Mills played basketball, many students related to him. Now, he
sees that sports were a means of breaking down walls in communities
struggling with integration.
“By my senior year, they hired the first black teacher and
teacher’s aide,” Mills said.
Mills and his nine siblings learned what it was like to
work at an early age. At times, their father attended school
only half a day because he was needed at home to pick cotton.
This created a strong work ethic in his family, which he has
shared with his sons.
Mills earned a basketball scholarship to San Jacinto Junior
College where he remained in the minority. By 1974, he
received a basketball scholarship to Lamar, where he played for
Coach Jack Martin. In his final year on the team, Mills was
named a second-team all-conference player for the Southland
Conference.
When he came to Lamar, he was glad to find African-
American students and teachers. He was also inspired by
people like the late John Gray, who helped him travel to
New York to continue his studies in art. Mills also praises
“the vision” of people like art professor Lynne Lokensgard,
who helped him develop as an artist.
Now, as executive director of the Port Arthur Economic
Development Corp., Mills is creating new opportunity for his
city. With business as his paintbrush and Port Arthur his canvas,
he works to create business growth and job opportunities
for the city’s residents.
Mills, the first African-American to earn a bachelor’s in
fine arts at Lamar, is never far from his brush and canvas. His
art is in the collections of notables
like Earl Campbell, Bill Cosby, Walter
Mondale, former President Jimmy
Carter, Coretta Scott King, Johnny
Carson and Margaret Thatcher. Mills
has even been nominated for the
Presidential Medal of Freedom for
his contribution to the arts and peace.
Mills hopes his abstract expressionist
work speaks to its audience
spiritually and stirs up deep feelings.
“I still view myself as a pioneer,
opening doors to try and make
things better for others, specifically
African-Americans,” he said.
“God has everyone in a place
for a reason,” Mills said. “I’m still
trying to get people to see things
in a different way. We all have to
understand that we can bring
about change.”
