Dharathula Millender

Dharathula "Dolly" Millender (February 4, 1920 – December 25, 2015) was an African American librarian, educator, historian, and author. She dedicated much of her life to the preservation of the history of Gary, Indiana and was frequently referred to as the city's historian. Millender founded the Gary Historical and Cultural Society and wrote multiple books on the city's history.

Early life and education

Dharathula Hood was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on February 4, 1920. Hood was the sixth of eight children born to Daisy Eslick Hood, an active member of the NAACP and co-founder of several organizations providing social services to Black women, and Orestes Hood, who became the first African American professional staff member at Purdue University. She moved to Pennsylvania later in 1943 to take a position at the Indiantown Gap Military Reservation. She was elected to that position multiple times, serving from 1980 to 1992. She also founded the Gary Writer's Conference, which supported local community writers and poets. Millender and a group of volunteers collaborated in 1984 to ensure the preservation of the city's first building, the Gary Land Company Building, helping to secure National Historic Landmark Status. Millender was essential in encouraging the return of radio station WLTH to Gary from Chicago in 2013. She was inducted into the Steel City Hall of Fame in 2003, which recognizes individuals who "make broad, significant, and multiple contributions to the Gary community or to society at large." She also received the Governor's Award for Outstanding Historic Preservation in Indiana. Millender was described on the House floor as "the historian of Gary, Indiana" and commended for her work in sharing information about Gary's African American history. Former Mayor Richard G. Hatcher described her as "a great historian and writer," saying "she single-handedly saved the culture of the city of Gary when the symphony moved to the county".

Personal life and death

She married Justyn Lafayette Millender and they had two children, Naomi and Justine. Millender died December 25, 2015.

Published works Crispus Attucks, Boy of Valor (1965) Real Negroes, Honest Settings: Children's and Young People's Books About Negro Life and History (1967) Yesterday in Gary: a Brief History of the Negro in Gary, 1906-1967 (1967) Martin Luther King, Jr., Boy with a Dream (1969) Louis Armstrong, Young Music Maker (1972)