Community gathers to honor trailblazing educators whose leadership transformed the university and Boulder

CU Boulder leadership, community partners and members of the Nilon family unveil the "Bench by the Road" dedicated to Charles and Mildred Nilon—trailblazing educators whose leadership transformed the university and the city of Boulder—at First Congregational Church in Boulder. Photos by Casey Cass/CU Boulder.

On Monday, Feb. 16, CU Boulder joined community partners and members of the Nilon family to dedicate Colorado’s first Toni Morrison Society Bench by the Road, honoring two trailblazing educators whose leadership transformed the university and the city of Boulder.

Located at the corner of Broadway and Pine, in front of the Museum of Boulder, the bench commemorates Charles and Mildred Nilon, civil rights advocates whose decades of work expanded access, representation and opportunity for Black residents, students and scholars. The ceremony drew university leaders, state and local public officials, Toni Morrison Society leaders, local advocates and generations of community members influenced by the Nilons’ legacy.

Charles Nilon arrived at CU Boulder in 1956 as the university’s first known Black professor. In the decade that followed, he built one of the nation’s earliest Black Studies programs—an academic home that mentored students, supported faculty and insisted that “the study of Black life, Black history, Black culture, and Black art was not a supplement to education—it was education,” shared Reiland Rabaka, founding director of CU Boulder’s Center for African & African American Studies (CAAAS) and event keynote speaker.

Charlie Nilon, son of Charles and Mildred, addresses the crowd.

His wife, Mildred Nilon, joined CU Boulder in 1962 as the first known Black librarian, expanding access to knowledge at a time when many libraries across the country remained segregated. Through her leadership, she helped redefine the purpose of an academic archive, showing that access to books and learning is also access to belonging.

Together, the Nilons became pillars of Boulder’s civil rights community, leading efforts to advance fair housing, equal employment and inclusive educational opportunities. Their home became a place of refuge and fellowship for countless students.

“My parents loved books, reading and learning, and they shared that love with CU students,” said their son, Charlie Nilon, to a packed crowd at First Congregational Church, which was selected after the Museum of Boulder was too small to accommodate public interest in the event. “They loved Boulder and CU and helped change both.”

The Toni Morrison Society’s Bench by the Road Project places installations at sites around the world that honor histories of the African diaspora. Colorado’s first bench is the 35th installation worldwide.

“This bench is not small—it is a geography of memory placed deliberately in public space,” said Rabaka. “The story of Boulder is incomplete without the story of this family. The story of the University of Colorado is unfinished without Black studies.”

Rabaka noted the Nilons did not simply support the growth of Black studies—they built it, directed it, and “loved this place enough to help it become more than it was.”

The dedication comes during CU Boulder’s 150th anniversary celebrations and the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary.

Reiland Rabaka, director of CU Boulder's Center for African & African American Studies, and U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, who both spoke at the event.

“We recognize that our strength has always come from those who were bold enough to imagine a better and more inclusive future,” said Chancellor Justin Schwartz during the ceremony. “Charles and Mildred Nilon remind us that progress is not a gift; it is a responsibility for us to accept and pass forward.”

Speakers also included U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse and other elected officials, leaders from the Toni Morrison Society and Museum of Boulder, and scholar-advocates from Boulder’s civil rights community. The program also featured music from the ACE Gospel Choir: All Created Equal and recognition of the Charles and Mildred Nilon Endowed Teacher Education Scholarship, established in 2016 to support students committed to expanding educational opportunity.

The bench, which includes a bronze naming plate and interpretive plaque, now stands prominently in downtown Boulder as an invitation—both to reflect on history and to imagine the work ahead.

“Where the winds of the Rocky Mountains move, one of the great stories of this city has been buried—whispered when it should have been declared,” Rabaka shared. “This bench invites us to sit with what has otherwise been forgotten.”

For students, residents, visitors and future generations, the bench offers a permanent place to honor two leaders who changed the trajectory of CU Boulder—and a reminder that building an inclusive community remains a shared responsibility.