Shelly Millender Jr
Shelly Millender Jr (born c. 1935 in Birmingham; died July 17, 2021) was an auto salesman, a radio host, and a civil rights activist.
Millender was the son of Shelly Millender Sr, and the brother of U.S. Representative Juanita Millender-McDonald. His mother died when he was a child. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and, after his discharge, attended Miles College, and was elected president of the Student Government Association. He was an active participant in the Civil Eights Movement. He and U. W. Clemon led a sit-in at the Birmingham Public Library in 1963, convincing the Library Board to change its policies, allowing Black patrons to use library facilities formerly restricted to whites.
After graduating, Millender took a job with the Birmingham Coca-Cola Bottling Company. He later became a luxury car salesman for several decades. After retiring he began hosting a radio program called "Let's Talk". Millender had three children with his wife, Doris, who died in 1984. His companion in later life was Brenda Faush.
Millender died in 2021 and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery.
References
- Wiegand, Wayne A. & Shirley A. Wiegand (2018) The Desegregation of Public Libraries in the Jim Crow South: Civil Rights and Local Activism. Louisiana State University Press ISBN 9780807168677
- "Shelly Millender Jr." obituary (July 19, 2021) The Birmingham News
- Williams, Roy L. (July 22, 2021) "Shelly Millender Jr., who Helped Desegregate Birmingham Public Library, Dies at Age 86" Birmingham Public Library Blog