Jason Miller

• Assistant Lecturer, North Carolina State University

Dr. Jason Miller is a Distinguished Professor and public scholar whose work has been featured on the ABC and NBC National Evening News, CNN, BBC, NPR, and The Rachel Maddow Show.

His author profile page is: wjasonmiller.

His books, film, and digital humanities projects on MLK, Langston Hughes, and Nina Simone ground accessible podcasts, TV, radio, and news articles with outlets such as The Washington Post, Boston Globe, The Guardian, Atlanta-Journal Constitution, and USA Today all running feature stories covering his research.

Included in Lit Hub's Most Anticipated for 2026, his forthcoming book "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood: Nina Simone, Langston Hughes, and the Birth of Black Power" is now available for pre-sale from the trade division of the University of North Carolina Press. Publisher's Weekly has called this“illuminating duel biography.... an eye-opening portrait of two civil rights crusaders,” and in a starred review, Booklist has called his“vivid and transporting writing” a“must read for American history, music, and literature buffs.” Library Journal's starred review raves that“Miller meticulously describes Simone's statement-making attire and analyzes her craft to great effect.” He served as a Fellow at the National Humanities Center in 2022-23 to document the full relationship between the priestess and the poet. This connection is also featured on the digital project Backlash Blues: Nina Simone and Langston Hughes.

His research on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s first“I Have a Dream” speech is the subject of the PBS documentary film "Origin of the Dream." As part of America 250, the film is now available for nationwide broadcast on PBS. The hourlong film traces King's use of Langston Hughes's poetry as inspiration. It features actor Danny Glover, Ambassador Andrew Young, Rev. William Barber II, MLK Pulitzer Prize-winner David Garrow, and the final on-camera interview with Julian Bond.

To discuss the new film, Jason recently featured with Dr. Lerone Martin, Director of the MLK Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, on "The Learning Curve Podcast."

• –present Professor of English, North Carolina State University

The Mayor of Rocky Mount named him an Honorary Citizen in 2017.

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