On Feb. 16, CU Boulder and the Nilon family unveiled Colorado’s first Toni Morrison Society Bench by the Road at Broadway and Pine. The memorial honors Charles and Mildred Nilon, pioneering educators who broke racial barriers at the university and in Boulder.

Pioneers of Progress

Charles Nilon became CU’s first Black professor in 1956 and founded one of the nation’s first Black Studies programs.

Mildred Nilon, CU’s first Black librarian in 1962, championed inclusive access to knowledge during segregation.

Beyond their careers, the Nilons fought for fair housing, mentored students, and served as civil rights leaders. As keynote speaker Reiland Rabaka said, “The story of Boulder is incomplete without the story of this family. The story of the University of Colorado is unfinished without Black studies.”

The ceremony, attended by U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, marked the 35th Bench by the Road worldwide. The bench invites reflection on a legacy that, as Rabaka argued, should be “declared” rather than whispered. As CU Boulder marks its 150th anniversary, the bench reminds the community of its ongoing responsibility for inclusion.

The Toni Morrison Society’s Bench by the Road Project creates public memorials honoring the lives and histories of enslaved Africans and their descendants. The Museum of Boulder proposed the Nilon bench, making it Colorado’s first and the 35th worldwide.