Gwen Patton facts for kids

Gwendolyn Marie Patton (October 14, 1943 – May 11, 2017) was an important civil rights activist and educator. She began her work in the civil rights movement by helping African Americans register to vote with her grandparents in Montgomery. During this time, she also took part in the Montgomery bus boycott.

After her early work, Patton joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) at Tuskegee University and worked with the Lowndes County Freedom Organization. Later, she helped start groups that supported human rights, the feminist movement, and the Black Power movement.

In 1984, she started her political career as a delegate for Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign. She then ran for the Alabama legislature in 1986 and for the U.S. Senate in 1992. Patton was also a historian. Her work helped create the H. Councill Trenholm State Technical College, which is now called Trenholm State Community College.

Early Life

Patton was born in Detroit, Michigan. Her parents, Robert and Jeanetta Patton, encouraged her and her brother, Robert Jr., to focus on school. They taught them to have a purpose in life and to help their community.

When Patton was 16, her mother passed away. She then moved to Montgomery to live with relatives. Before her mother's death, Patton often visited Montgomery. During these visits, she worked with her father's parents. They helped Black voters get ready for the literacy test, which was often used to stop Black people from voting. Patton's grandparents turned their home into a "citizenship school" to fight this unfair practice. Through this work, Gwen became very passionate about the civil rights movement, especially about voting rights.

Education and Learning

Tuskegee University

Patton attended Tuskegee University. She was known as a great student and a cheerleader. She also became the first woman president of the Student Government Association (SGA). In the mid-1960s, she worked with the Tuskegee Institute Advancement League (TIAL). She helped other Tuskegee students become part of the Black activism movement.

Many of her classmates saw Patton as a strong leader. They often joined her in boycotts against segregation and in anti-war protests. They also agreed with her ideas on voting rights. They worked with SNCC and helped create the Black Panther Party for Lowndes County.

Graduate Studies

Patton continued her education in 1972. She earned a master's degree in history and education from the Antioch School of Law (now part of the University of the District of Columbia). After that, she worked towards a doctorate degree. She studied political history and higher education at Union Graduate School (now Clarkson University) in New York.

Political Activism

College Activism

In the 1960s, Patton helped create the Alabama Democratic Conference. This was the Black political part of Alabama's Democratic Party. She also founded the National Black AntiWar, AntiDraft Union (NBAWADU) and the National Association of Black Students (1969). In 1986, she founded the Alabama New South Coalition.

Patton's involvement began as an organizer for the Montgomery Bus Boycott. She helped collect shoes and buy groceries for Black people in the neighborhood. She also helped organize transportation to make sure the boycott was successful.

Her experiences at Tuskegee Institute, which she attended in 1962, helped her become an excellent activist. She understood the importance of student power. Patton and other students worked to gain control of the Student Body Government (SBG) at Tuskegee. They believed that if they controlled the SBG's funds, they could start programs to raise social awareness. In 1965, Patton was elected student body president. She was excited to see that students at Tuskegee were becoming more politically aware, just like students across the country who wanted social change.

Work with the NSA

As president of the SBG, Patton attended conferences for the U.S. National Student Association (USNSA). By 1964, students nationwide joined the "Fast for Freedom" food boycott. This effort connected anti-poverty work with the Civil Rights movement. Students would skip meals and donate the money to help poor Black people in the South and the civil rights movement.

Patton began visiting the NSA national headquarters. She wanted to challenge the organization's rules. She also helped found the Alabama New South Coalition. This group aimed to increase voter registration, education, and leadership in communities. In 1987, Patton founded the Southern Regional Africa Peace Coordinating Network. This group worked to raise awareness in the South about anti-apartheid violence in South Africa.

Career

After College

Soon after college, Patton became an important writer about Black Power. She wrote papers like "Pro Black, Not Anti-White." She was paid by the Student Human Relations Project (SHARP) to speak on college campuses about Black Power ideas. While others like Wille Ricks and Stokely Carmichael made the phrase popular, theorists like Patton helped explain its meaning for everyday people.

As an Educator

Patton spent her career as an English teacher and curriculum expert. She also taught as an adjunct professor. She founded and led two major civil rights groups: the National Black Anti-War, Anti-Draft Union (NBAWADU) and the National Association of Black Students (NABS). The NBAWADU was the first national anti-war group focused on fighting racism and sexism. The NABS helped students become more aware of their roles as workers.

Before returning to Alabama in 1978, she taught at Antioch, and in New York and Vermont. From 1981 to 1986, she led the Academic Advising Center at Alabama State University, where she also taught. She also helped coordinate Tuskegee Institute's Centennial Campaign, which was a fundraising effort.

Later Career

In 1992, Patton became an archivist at Trenholm State Technical College. Her job was to preserve the Montgomery Pioneer Voting Rights Collection. This collection included records from local activists like Rufus A. Lewis and Idessa Williams.

In 1998, she also helped create the Montgomery Friends of the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. This group led to the placement of historic markers and regular cleanup along the trail. They also opposed the building of landfills near Lowndesboro in 2000. In 2010, Patton gained national attention for her contributions to "Hands on the Freedom Plow." This book shared the thoughts of Black women leaders in SNCC. She left Trenholm State Technical College in 2014.

Gwen Patton passed away in Montgomery on May 11, 2017. She is buried at Oakwood Cemetery.