Preston Valien

Preston Valien (February 19, 1914 - 1995) was an African-American sociologist. He was a Sociology professor at Fisk University and Brooklyn College, and he worked for the U.S. federal government, including as a cultural attaché in Nigeria. He was the author of several books about school desegregation in the Southern United States.

Preston Valien
Born	(1914-02-19)February 19, 1914 Beaumont, Texas, U.S.
Died	1995(1995-00-00) (aged 80–81)
Alma mater	Prairie View A&M University University of Wisconsin
Occupation	Sociologist
Spouse	Bonita H. Valien

Early life

Valien was born on February 19, 1914, in Beaumont, Texas. He graduated from Prairie View A&M University, where he earned a bachelor's degree. He subsequently earned a PhD from the University of Wisconsin.^[1]

Career

Valien became a Sociology professor at Fisk University, a historically black university in Nashville, Tennessee. He served as the head of its Sociology department until 1960, when he resigned to work as a cultural attaché at the Embassy of the United States in Nigeria for the United States Information Agency until 1962.^[2][3]

Valien was an associate professor of Anthropology and Sociology at Brooklyn College from 1962 to 1965. He later served as chief of graduate programs for the U.S. Office of Education.^[1] He was the commencement speaker at Alcorn State University in 1975.^[3]

Valien author of several books about school desegregation in the Southern United States. With his wife, he interviewed Civil Rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.^[1]

Personal life

Valien married Bonita Harrison, a sociologist.^[2] He died in 1995.^[1]

Selected works

• Masuoka, Jitsuichi; Valien, Preston, eds. (1975). Race Relations: Problems and Theory: Essays in Honor of Robert Ezra Park. Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press. OCLC 476442564.