George Patterson
Tougaloo, MS
George Patterson is a native of Mobile, AL. In 1999, he enrolled at Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi, where he majored in History and minored in Computer Science. During this period, he also became a member of the service organization Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated. During his graduate studies at the University of Saint Thomas in Houston, Texas, George studied and traveled abroad to England, Italy and Mexico. His travels, coupled with his work in higher education and has community outreach has afforded him the lens through which he now views the world, specifically Jackson, Mississippi. Patterson works with a number of community organizations, in addition to national advocacy groups to persist towards a better Mississippi and greater America. George believes that connecting campus to community is one sure fire solution to changing our common places- our community.
Patterson is currently conducting research on the relevance of HBCUs Then and Now: Bridging The Gap Between Campus and Community. In the midst of this research, George serves as a Digital Organizing Fellow for the Institute for Democratic Education in America. There is a significant gap in communication between youth, parents, educators, activists, and policy makers, but the number of social media status updates increase daily. Poor communication only awards a prize of false understanding. This false understanding of what is needed for today's student is what George aims to remedy through community organizing and digital activism.