An Unlikely and Inseparable Duo: A Black History Spotlight
In honor of Black History Month, PCA junior Kennedy Patton discovered ties to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from PCA faculty member Mrs. Boone’s family past. A special interview revealed the incredible story of Mrs. Boone’s grandfather, who witnessed both the struggles of the African American community and injustices that Dr. King so passionately fought against during the Civil Rights Movement.
Colonel Max Milton, Mrs. Boone’s grandfather, spent a career in the state’s military before becoming Martin Luther King’s personal security guard. When President John F. Kennedy sent an order for Alabama to start a special forces program, the Green Berets Program, he began training with General Graham, who was in charge. After his training, Colonel Milton returned to Alabama to help lead the Green Berets in the state. He had risen to become second in command under General Graham when the Civil Rights Movement began. As a result, when the federal orders were issued to enact Marshall Law in Alabama, he led the state’s troops accordingly. From that point on, he became involved in the Civil Rights Movement from a protective standpoint. His job was to protect the activists and the general public to maintain order within the state.
According to Mrs. Boone, his granddaughter, this was like seeing the insides of an entirely different story for him. Before this, his only interaction with African Americans had been in his farming and business life. He had not seen their needs, the inequality they endured, or the injustices that were occurring. He had not even noticed that his kids were not in school with African Americans and therefore never really thought about their plight until the events of the Civil Rights Movement came into action.
However, Colonel. Milton got a unique glimpse into the Civil Rights Movement when he had one-on-one time with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he was assigned as his personal bodyguard within the Montgomery area. Everywhere Dr. King went during his time in Montgomery, Colonel Milton did also. Everything between the two was synchronized. He had to sleep when Dr. King went to bed and wake up when Dr. King woke up, and it was by no means a 9-to-5 job.
Over time, Colonel Milton came to enjoy visiting the jails alongside Dr. King while he encouraged the prisoners they visited and gained inspiration from their stories of unjust imprisonment due to activism. Colonel Milton often listened in as Dr. King drew inspiration for his speeches, and overall, his experience provided him an extraordinary “chance to see an argument, and to see a side of the Civil Rights Movement that he had never thought about just as an uneducated farmer from Alabama.” Mrs. Boone explains that, during his time with the prisoners, Colonel Milton understood that what the activists “did might have been against a civil law, but it wasn’t necessarily against a moral law.”
Certainly, there are many lessons we can learn from the Civil Rights Era. PCA is privileged to have students and teachers who keep the memories alive so that we can continue to shape this world into a better place for all people.
A huge thank you to Mrs. Boone for sharing her grandfather’s story!
By: Kennedy Patton ‘23
Journalism Student
