Quentin Kyles Miller (b. 1925 Asheville, NC - d. 1992 Asheville, NC) Application to BMC, 1947. Digital print from archival scan. Western Regional Archives, State Archives of NC.

Quentin Kyles Miller (b. 1925 Asheville, NC – d. 1992 Asheville, NC) Application to BMC, 1947. Digital print from archival scan. Western Regional Archives, State Archives of NC.

Quentin Kyles Miller (b. 1925 Asheville, NC – d. 1992 Asheville, NC) 

Quentin Kyles Miller was one of the rare Asheville natives to attend Black Mountain College, where he studied Music and German in the summer of 1947. He would go on to teach in Asheville and served as Principal of Newton, Claxton, and Randolph elementary schools. He was the first person of color to be appointed as Assistant Superintendent to Asheville Schools. He continued to teach and perform music as a band director and co-founder of the Reynolds-Miller Men’s Chorale, in addition to singing and playing organ at St. Matthias Church. His grandfather, James Vester Miller, whose mother Louisa Miller was enslaved at the time of his birth, was a renowned craftsman, contractor, and teacher whose work can be seen in the Asheville Municipal Building, Hopkins Chapel, Mount Zion and Saint Matthias churches, among many others. He was a mentor and a community leader at the YMI Cultural Center and founded Miller & Sons Construction. Miller’s son, physician Dr. L.O. Miller, was a prominent member of the AVL community and founder of Violet Hills Cemetery, a historic resting place for the Black community that is still maintained by the family today.