- Graduating high school seniors
- Residents of Hartford, East Hartford, Bloomfield, or Windsor, Connecticut
- Express an intention to pursue a degree in one or more of the following areas of study: the arts, humanities, African American studies, Black studies, Africana studies, African diaspora studies, or racial justice
- Demonstrated financial need
Dr. Robert J. Patterson created this scholarship in 2018, 20 years after receiving a scholarship from the Greater Hartford Gives Foundation. A Hartford resident and Glastonbury High School graduate, he went on to earn his B.A. from Georgetown University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Emory University. Today, he is a professor of African American Studies at Georgetown University, where he was the first chair of the Department of African American Studies. He is a frequent guest on a variety of media platforms, discussing slavery’s legacies, reparations, and racial equality. Dr. Patterson is also a prolific author. The subjects of his published articles range from Tyler Perry’s films to African American Women’s writing in the 19th and 20th centuries; his books include Destructive Desires: Rhythm and Blues Culture and the Politics of Racial Equality and Black Equity, Black Equality: Reparation and Black Communities and US Slave Narratives: A Very Short Introduction.
