Louise Thompson Patterson
Encyclopedia
Louise Alone Thompson Patterson (September 9, 1901 – August 27, 1999) was an American
social activist and college professor.
, Illinois
, Patterson became a professor at the renowned Hampton Institute, a Historically Black College (HBCU) in Virginia
, by age twenty-two. She left after five years for the burgeoning artistic community arising out of the in New York City
. When she first came to the Harlem
community she pursued social work, but eventually became a central figure in the movement and married writer Wallace Thurman
.
Though Patterson organized a number of protests and opened one of the premiere Harlem salons, she became best known for her close friendship with author Langston Hughes
. Both admired the Soviet
system of government and organized a group of twenty-two Harlem writers, artists, and intellectuals to create a film about discrimination in America for a Soviet film company. After the project fell through due to lack of funding, Patterson and Hughes returned to the United States
to found the Harlem Suitcase Theater, which presented plays written by Hughes and other black writers and featured all-black casts.
For the remainder of her life, Patterson continued to be active in political and social issues. Patterson married Thurman in August 1928 but their marriage broke up six months later when she discovered that he was homosexual. She later married William L. Patterson
, a prominent member of the American Communist Party
, she joined her husband in protesting the anti-Communist policies of Senator Joseph McCarthy
. In the sixties, she was also involved in the Civil Rights Movement
, though by that time her influence was greatly overshadowed by more notable figures. Patterson died of natural causes on August 27, 1999, shortly before her ninety-eighth birthday, in New York City
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
social activist and college professor.
Biography
Born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Patterson became a professor at the renowned Hampton Institute, a Historically Black College (HBCU) in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, by age twenty-two. She left after five years for the burgeoning artistic community arising out of the in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. When she first came to the Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
community she pursued social work, but eventually became a central figure in the movement and married writer Wallace Thurman
Wallace Thurman
Wallace Henry Thurman was an American novelist during the Harlem Renaissance. He is best known for his novel The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life, which explores discrimination among black people based on skin color.-Early life:...
.
Though Patterson organized a number of protests and opened one of the premiere Harlem salons, she became best known for her close friendship with author Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
. Both admired the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
system of government and organized a group of twenty-two Harlem writers, artists, and intellectuals to create a film about discrimination in America for a Soviet film company. After the project fell through due to lack of funding, Patterson and Hughes returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to found the Harlem Suitcase Theater, which presented plays written by Hughes and other black writers and featured all-black casts.
For the remainder of her life, Patterson continued to be active in political and social issues. Patterson married Thurman in August 1928 but their marriage broke up six months later when she discovered that he was homosexual. She later married William L. Patterson
William L. Patterson
William L. Patterson was a leader in the Communist Party USA and head of the International Labor Defense, a group that offered legal representation to communists, trade unionists, and African-Americans in cases involving issues of political or racial persecution...
, a prominent member of the American Communist Party
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
, she joined her husband in protesting the anti-Communist policies of Senator Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
. In the sixties, she was also involved in the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, though by that time her influence was greatly overshadowed by more notable figures. Patterson died of natural causes on August 27, 1999, shortly before her ninety-eighth birthday, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.