Biography:

Historian; professor of history. Born– Oct. 27, 1943,  Montgomery. Parents– Jonathan Mills, Jr. and Priscilla (Marks) Thornton. Married–Brenda Booth, January 5, 1985. Education– Princeton University, B.A., 1966; Yale University, Ph.M. 1969, Ph.D., 1974.Taught University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, 1971-1974; University of Michigan, 1974-2010; contributor to Southern literary journals. Danforth fellow 1966-1974; Jules F. Landry prize winner (Louisiana State University, 1977); Guggenheim fellow 1978-1979; member Organization of American Historians, Southern Historical Association, Princeton Club, Phi Beta Kappa, and National Trust for Historic Preservation. Awarded emeritus status at the University of Michigan on his retirement in 2010.

Source:

Contemporary Authors online

Publication(s):

Dividing Lines:  Municipal Politics and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Montgomery, Birmingham, and Selma.  University of Alabama Press, 2002.

Politics and Power in a Slave Society; Alabama, 1800-1860. Baton Rouge, La.; Louisiana State University Press, 1978.

Touched by History: A Civil Rights Tour Guide to Montgomery, Alabama, Dexter Avenue King Memorial Church, 1992.