BHS Day 22: Frederick Patterson

 

Hi! For our final Community Spotlight in this year's series (are we really heading into the last week of BHS already??), we're closing it out with another individual. I tried to trade off between talking about community organizations and individuals; since I'm featuring so many different Black orgs this year I didn't want to focus the Community Spotlights primarily on them as well. Today's entrant could have easily gone into education, but I put him here because I think he ultimately benefited the community a bit more. Let's get into it!

Source

Name: Frederick Douglass Patterson, 1901-1988

Profession: Entrepreneur, educator

Why is the Spotlight on him today? For his contributions and dedication to education, the results of which are still around today, and his genuine desire to better the world through his work

Notables:

--Founded the United Negro College Fund

--Won a federal contract from Tuskegee to develop a training site and eventually a full base at the site, which became the birthplace of the Tuskegee Airmen

--Was the third president of the Tuskegee University

--Is responsible for improving Tuskegee's standard of education to what it is today by making it a full university and creating graduate programs, which are still around today

--Earned his teaching certificate at 14 and went on to receive both a Master's and Doctorate's from Iowa State University, then another Doctorate from Cornell University

--Was the only Black student working in Iowa State University's clinic

--Created Tuskegee's School of Veterinary Medicine, his line of study, which was the first veterinary program at a Black institution of any kind

--Sat on President Truman's President Commission on Higher Education, which was the committee responsible for creating and enacting Title III of the 1965 Education Act

--Created a program for low-income residents to learn how to build new homes from a concrete construction method later named the "Tuskegee concrete block," which was then used to develop and build homes more affordably

--Was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

--Sat on the boards of various HBCUs and was later awarded 20 honorary degrees, some of which were from the colleges he formerly served as a board member

--Was posthumously honored by his organization by having the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute created in his honor as a research institute into the educational issues facing Black students at all levels

Further reading and resources:

1 | 2 | 3 

Quote of the Day:

“I learned a lesson with regard to race that I never forgot: how people feel about you reflects the way you permit yourself to be treated. If you permit yourself to be treated differently, you are condemned to an unequal relationship.”

-Frederick D. Patterson

Today's organization: Wellspring House

Source

What does this organization provide? A combination of services meant to service the low-income and needy. Homeless prevention services range from sheltering those who are homeless, helping get families into permanent homes, and helping those in danger of losing their homes with one-time financial support. The organization provides job training and career planning classes, sponsors eligible students with scholarships, and provides college and career prep information.

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See you tomorrow!