Robert J. Patterson

Dr. Robert J. Patterson is Professor and Chair of the Department of Black Studies at Georgetown University, having served as inaugural chair of the Department of African American Studies from 2016 to 2019. His academic leadership extends to co-chairing the College Board's Development Committee for its African American Studies pilot course.

He earned his Ph.D. from Georgetown University, establishing deep institutional roots. His research interrogates systemic inequities through interdisciplinary lenses, with core expertise in reparations frameworks, Black expressive culture, and slavery's contemporary manifestations. Key publications include Destructive Desires: Rhythm and Blues Culture and the Politics of Racial Equality (Rutgers, 2019) and Exodus Politics: Civil Rights and Leadership in African American Literature and Culture (UVA, 2013), alongside the award-winning edited volume Black Cultural Production After Civil Rights (Illinois, 2019).

Current projects advancing this scholarship are Black Equity, Black Equality: Reparation and Black Communities and US Slave Narratives: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press). His work synthesizes literary analysis, music studies, and social justice praxis, examining figures like Toni Morrison and W.E.B. DuBois alongside cultural phenomena from Tyler Perry's films to 12 Years a Slave.

• The Psychic Hold of Slavery: Legacies in American Expressive Culture (Rutgers, 2016) [co-edited]

Dr. Patterson actively translates scholarship into public impact through media commentary (MSNBC, Fox Soul, CNN, BBC) and community initiatives. He co-founded the Robert J. Patterson Scholarship Fund with the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, supporting Hartford residents pursuing degrees in African American Studies, social justice, arts, or humanities—demonstrating commitment to equitable access and institutional transformation.