“M” is for Miller, Thomas Ezekiel (1849-1938)

“M” is for Miller, Thomas Ezekiel (1849-1938). Political leader, college president. Born in Beaufort District, Miller regarded himself as a Black man but his fair complexion led to persistent speculation and controversy about his racial identity. He graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. A loyal Republican, Miller served in the state House of Representatives 1874-1880) and state Senate (1880-1882). In 1894 Miller was elected to the S. C. House and to represent Beaufort in the 1895 constitutional convention. The new constitution effectively disenfranchised the state’s Black majority. Miller refused to sign the completed constitution. In 1896 he guided legislation through the General Assembly creating the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina (now South Carolina State University). Shortly thereafter, Thomas Ezekiel Miller resigned from the House and was named the president of the new institution.