Stacey Patton ’96 Launches Hutchins Institute for Social Justice Mini-Residency Program

Lawrenceville’s Hutchins Institute for Social Justice will launch its Mini-Residency tomorrow, a program that will welcome scholars, activists, artists, and other social justice practitioners to campus. Residents will provide opportunities for the School community to deepen its thinking about social justice, listen to and learn from each other, and promote community-centered and impact-focused action. Award-winning author, educator, journalist, and child advocate Stacy Patton ’96 is the inaugural Hutchins Institute for Social Justice Resident.

“Stacey Patton’s personal story is so powerfully moving and her scholarship so critically important, I could not think of a better person to inaugurate the Hutchins Institute for Social Justice Mini-Residency series,” said Institute Executive Director Zaheer Ali. “That she is an alum of Lawrenceville makes this even more special—through the lens of her own experiences as a student here, Lawrentians will get a sense of some of the history that they all share; and through her groundbreaking research, students will learn of the important social justice work that remains to be done.”

On February 4, Patton will begin her day on campus at an all-School meeting, discussing her journey to Lawrenceville, her challenges as a student of color and ward of the state, some important lessons learned, and how her experience altered the trajectory of her life. She will also outline how the nurture and mentorship she received from various Lawrenceville faculty members still influences her work as a journalist, scholar activist, and educator.

After attending a “Themes in U.S. History” class, Patton will meet with members of several students clubs, including the Alliance of Black Cultures, Black Women at Lawrenceville, Black Men Alliance, Caribbean Club, and African Student Union. In the evening, Patton will provide an advance reading from her forthcoming book (“Strung Up: The Lynching of Black Children and Teenagers in America, 1880-1968”) on the lynching of Black children during America’s Jim Crow era. She will draw on fellow Lawrentian Reginald Marsh’s (Class of 1916) anti-lynching cartoon to explore how children played a startlingly significant role in the drama of collective racial homicide, not only as victims but also as perpetrators-in-training.

Patton’s writings on race, higher education, culture, politics, and child welfare issues have appeared in a number of media outlets, including The New York Times, Washington Post, BBC News, and Al Jazeera. She has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, ABC News, Democracy NOW, FOX News, and other outlets.  She is the author of “That Mean Old Yesterday--A Memoir” and “Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won't Save Black America.” Patton is the creator of sparethekids.com, an online portal designed to teach parents about the harms of hitting children. She is also the creator of the forthcoming interactive 3D medical animation app called "When You Hit Me," scheduled for release in April 2022.  Additionally, Patton is research associate professor at Morgan State University's Institute for Urban Research, and she teaches digital journalism at Howard University. 

As a Lawrenceville student, Patton played soccer, basketball, and ran track.  She was also a member of the Lawrenceville Singers and Gospel Choir, the African American and Latino Alliance, and a Woodrow Wilson Public Speaking finalist.  After graduating from Lawrenceville, Patton attended Johns Hopkins University, New York University, and Rutgers University where she earned her Ph.D. in African American history.  She worked as a journalist for The Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, and as a writer for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, prior to entering higher education as a professor.

For additional information, please contact Lisa M. Gillard Hanson, director of Public Relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.