Long before Wiz Khalifa made the song “We Dem Boyz” and before it caught on with America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys; there were a group of brothers that were referred to as “Them Boys”. Those boys were the brothers born to Vivian Doris Davis and Jodie Miller Sr. Their names were none other than oldest brother Jodie Orlando Miller, middle brother La Jon Marqui Miller and baby brother Draco Raul Miller.
The Early Years:
Jodie Miller Sr. was a member of the United States AirForce and bravely served his country during the Korean war. He married Vivian Doris Davis and the two would have four children: 3 boys and 1 girl. While in the Air Force, Miller Sr. was stationed in Colorado, where their eldest son and middle son would be born. Jodie Orlando Miller was born on March 23rd, 1958, in Denver Colorado and middle son, La Jon Marqui Miller was born May 13th, 1960, in Aurora, Colorado. After serving in the Air Force, the family moved back to Brownwood, where wife Vivian was from. The couple’s third child and first girl Ilita Shanett Miller was born July 18th, 1961, and the final baby boy and the youngest sibling, Draco Raul Miller would be born July 31st, 1962. Ilita and Draco were both born via midwife “Momma D”.
The Miller boys and their sister were raised in the George Smith Housing Projects. They didn’t grow up “rich” or with a lot of money, but they were rich in love and family. Their mother, Vivian Doris was a domestic worker for various families in Brownwood and their father, after serving in the Air Force, was a janitor for the Brown County courthouse. The boys grew up with a large extended family and a network of friends from the neighborhood. Both Jodie and La Jon attended R.F. Hardin Elementary, a school for black students during segregation.
From an early age, their mother taught them the importance of a strong family and always taking care of one another. So much so, the story goes whenever their mom needed something from the neighborhood store, the boys were told to go by each of their aunts and great aunts’ houses down the street to see if they needed anything. They were also told that they had to go together and the baby boy, Draco, was to be in the middle and the three brothers were to hold hands walking to and from the store. They hated doing this, as they were teased by the neighborhood kids constantly. But what they didn’t know then was that years later that very act would be the catalyst for something great. Their mother Vivian was instilling connection, protection, and always taking care of one another in her boys. Tough times would mount in the mid-60’s, but the Miller family stayed strong and kept their faith. At an early age the brothers were taught the importance of having faith in Jesus Christ. This didn’t mean that tough times wouldn’t come, but it meant they wouldn’t last. During hard times, The Miller boys wore hand me down, or handmade clothes. But as the neighborhood would come to know, they were always “sharp”. After remarrying to Jessie Powell, Vivian and her children would move out of the George Smith Housing projects into a house that would become the homestead for the family. The family still owns the very house the siblings outside of the oldest Jodie lived in.
Jodie Orlando Miller, the oldest of the Miller boys, graduated from Brownwood High in 1975. After high school he attended Angelo State University from 1975 until 1977. Wanting to branch out and see the world, Jodie enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1977. He was stationed in Turkey and would spend the next 6 years traveling around Europe. While in the Air Force, Jodie would miss the graduations of all three of his siblings and the remarrying of his mother to Jessie Powell. In 1983, Jodie finished his career with the Air Force and returned home to Brownwood. Throughout the years Jodie would use his skills taught to him by his family and the Air Force to help others. Jodie was successful in many career choices, including working for New Horizons of Brownwood and Big Country Ford as their number one car salesman. With his success, he would become the first African American finance director for Big Country Ford in Brownwood. He served in that capacity for many years before retiring.
La Jon Marqui Miller, the middle of the brothers, graduated from Brownwood High in 1978. After graduating, he would spend several years working for the Swift packing plant, where his stepfather Jessie Powell worked. Wanting more and to expand his horizons, La Jon enlisted in the United States Navy in 1982. While in the Navy, he was assigned to the USS Iowa and was stationed in Central America for some time, before transferring to Washington State and then down to the Mississippi Gulf area.
After traveling state side and the world, in 1986, La Jon entered the navy reserves of Abilene and went on mini tours to Iraq and Iran aboard the USS Leader and USS Fearless out of South Carolina. In 1989 La Jon completed his military career and returned to Brownwood where he too used his skills taught by the military to help others. La Jon would become a mentor, teacher, and counselor. Later in life he would receive degrees from Kaplan University in 2005 with a degree as a crime scene investigator and in 2019 he received a degree from Dallas College as a Substance Abuse Counselor.
Draco Raul Miller, the baby boy and youngest of all the siblings, graduated from Brownwood High School in 1980 and started his working career soon after graduation. He was the only Miller boy who didn’t serve and the only sibling to never leave Brownwood. His first full job was with the Texas Youth Commission, or TYC. He was hired as the youngest CO at the age of 18. He would spend more than 10 years at TYC. Draco would go on to become one of the most influential and well-liked people in Brownwood. Wanting to be an entrepreneur and work for himself, after working for TYC, Kohler, and Central Texas MHMR, he started and built serval businesses including Reliable Janitorial, Just Wings, and Draco’s Janitorial and Auto Detailing. He also invested and partnered with several businesses around central west Texas. As much as he was known for being a businessman, the youngest brother was well-known for his civic and community engagements. He sat on countless boards and would eventually run and be elected to the Brownwood City Council as only the second African American and the first African American to hold the position of Mayor Pro Tem. Later in life Draco would be honored as the Man of the Year by the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce.
Coming Together:
In the late 80’s and 90’s the brothers decided to come together and do something that hadn’t been done by many African American brothers, especially in Brownwood. They would cultivate, create, and establish several businesses and non-profit organizations together. Taking the connection, protection and taking care of one another taught to them by their mother, the Miller Boys started JD&L (Jodie, Draco & La Jon) Enterprises. JD&L Enterprises was comprised of several businesses and non-profits, with its headquarters and office in downtown Brownwood. Businesses throughout the years included: White Glove Cleaning, Stars II night club, Faces night club, Sparkling Auto Detailing, Head To Toe clothing store, Snappy’s, and Mass Production Entertainment. Each one of these businesses met the different personalities of the brothers and meant something to the community of Brownwood.
Night Life- If you were looking for the hottest club in Brown County, then you looked no further than Stars II or Faces. Every weekend the clubs would be at capacity. In the 90’s there was no other place to be. The brothers hired local DJ and friend, DJ Slick to keep the people coming back each weekend.
The late 80’s and 90’s saw an urban fashion trend like no other. Wanting to capitalize on it, The Miller Boys started Head To Toe clothing store, offering some of the hottest pieces of the time. Everything from Cross Colours clothing brands, biking shorts, jerseys, T-shirts, to Doone & Burke purses, Head To Toes was the one stop shop for all things Urban in the 90’s.
Now you couldn’t look good and drive up to the club in a dirty car, so the Miller Boys had you covered there too with Sparkle Auto Detailing. The business took care of making your vehicle shine, getting you ready for the weekend and the club.
Giving Back:
During the mid-90’s one of the most beneficial and rewarding ventures the Miller Boys established was Mass Production Entertainment or MPE. MPE was yet another arm of JD&L Enterprises. MEP was the Civic and Entertainment branch of the enterprise. Never wanting to just make a profit the Miller Boys started the first summer food program for their community by feeding the youth lunch at the Bennie Houston Community Center. The brothers went on to sponsor and cultivate the annual Juneteenth Celebration and other events at Cecil Holman Park. After many years, they would pass the torch to another Brownwood native, Mrs. Carol Sue Spratt, where for the next decade she would be the Juneteenth Celebration Coordinator. Inclusive of MPE were community talent and fashion shows for both the youth and adults, also held at the Bennie Houston Community Center. Believing in the power of service and reaching others, the Miller Boys brought in various motivational speakers to the community in hopes of empowering people and the community.
Lending a helping hand, the Miller Boys sat on various boards in the 90’s and 2000’s. One of which was the R. F. Hardin Museum board, where family member Charles Lowe was on the exec board, and who at an early age attended the school. The board worked to raise funds for the conservation of the building and to get it on the Texas and National Historic registries.
Learning from their local heroes and wanting to honor them, in the early 2000’s the Miller Boys established the Friends of Bennie Houston organization. Bennie Houston was a pioneer in the black community, being the first African American elected to the Brownwood City Council along with many other accolades. The city after his passing, honored him by renaming the Cordell Street Community Center to the Bennie Houston Community Center. Wanting to help and seeing the effects of limited upgrades to the community center, the Miller Boys along with their newly established organization, sprang into action. They raised the funds to purchase new pool tables, gaming systems and computers. These purchases allowed the youth to enjoy all the community center had to offer. Seeing more to be done and wanting to broaden the scope of giving back, the Miller Boys expanded the vision of the Friends of Bennie Houston to a full scale 501(C) 3 organization in 2008. The new organization was called Revitalizing Our Community or ROC. This new organization gave the Miller Boys and the organization the chance to tackle larger projects in the community, such as the Cecil Holman Park project. This project would be a complete revitalization of the beloved park. Working with the city, ROC was able to purchase new playground equipment, refurbish existing equipment, build a new pavilion, transform the old tennis courts into basketball courts, create a walking trail lined with trees and create a donor’s patio. It was one of the largest projects taken on by any organization in the community. Still seeing the need for more, the organization started a scholarship fund for local high school seniors as well as working to create the MLK plaza and annual MLK celebration for the citizens of Brownwood.
Current Day:
Although JD&L Enterprises and many of the brother partnered businesses are gone, the civic engagement and nonprofit arm is as strong as ever. ROC has been going strong for 16 years, providing projects, fundraising for the community, scholarships, and program/events. Currently, the next generation of Millers are leading the ROC organization.
After a successful career in the automotive industry, Jodie Miller retired and now spends his time playing golf and being a granddad to his grandkids. Jodie still resides in Brownwood where he can still be found connecting, protecting, and caring for his family. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree as his daughters are involved in various businesses and civic engagements.
La Jon Miller also resides in Brownwood utilizing his degree as an abuse counselor at the T.R Havins Unit Prison. He is still active in the community as the Sargent at Arms and event chair for ROC, the organization he helped create. Service also found its way to his offspring, as his son served in the military. Slowing down some, La Jon spends most weekends playing golf.
Sadly, February 16th ,2023 the Miller Boys lost their youngest brother, Draco Raul Miller, at the age of 60. A larger-than-life person for the family and community, a book would need to be written on who he was, what he stood for and how he impacted the city he loved so dearly. His footprint can still be seen in Brownwood, as his children are active in the community. His son Draco Jr. took the torch and won the City Council seat his father held for over a decade. He, along with his family, also run and operate Draco’s Janitorial & Auto Detailing, which has been in operation for over 30 years.
Taking the lessons from the matriarch of the family, Vivian Doris Davis-Powell, the Miller Boys successfully connected, protected, and took care of one another, including the community they cherished. They built a legacy of achievements and giving back for the next generation to step into.
ROC celebrates the vision and achievements of the Miller Boys. They will forever be known as “Them boys”, and we thank them for leaving a long-lasting rich legacy for the community and the next generation.