Iota Lambda alumnus receives Longwood’s young alumni award
The following article was published by Longwood University Alumni & Friends (longwood.edu/alumni). It was reprinted with permission from Amber Litchford, Program Specialist, Alumni Engagement for the Office of Alumni and Career Services at Longwood University. The article highlights Cam Patterson (Iota Lambda/Longwood 2010).
Rotunda Outstanding Young Alumni Award Recipient
Cameron Patterson '10
Cameron Patterson ’10 is managing director of the Robert Russa Moton Museum, the National Historic Landmark where a 1951 student strike helped launch the modern American civil rights movement.
Located on the edge of the Longwood campus, the former Robert Russa Moton High School, where the strike took place, opened to the public as the Robert Russa Moton Museum in 2001. The museum’s mission is to interpret the history of civil rights in education specifically as it relates to Prince Edward County and the leading role its citizens played in helping the country to advance from segregation toward integration.
“From the start, I’ve felt connected to Moton’s story and significance,” said Patterson, who previously worked in Student Affairs at Longwood. “Living in this community and interacting with those who were impacted by what happened here makes it that much more meaningful.”
Since taking the helm at Moton three years ago, Patterson has raised the museum’s profile, helping to increase its annual traffic to more than 12,000 visitors who engage in on-site and off-site programming.
“My colleagues and those before me have worked to build something remarkable, and I think it’s a gem that folks should know about,” he said.
One initiative that’s helping to raise the museum’s profile is the Young Visitors Project, which was created to ensure that the museum’s current exhibit serves learners of all ages and meets the educational needs of both teachers and schoolchildren. That’s particularly important because the Moton story is part of the history and social sciences standard of learning for Virginia Studies and U.S. History, Patterson said.
Patterson also helped put the museum in the spotlight on the first Barbara Johns Day, held in April 2018 to honor the student who led the strike at Moton High School. Patterson was widely quoted in the media about the significance of Johns’ contributions to the civil rights movement and wrote an op-ed piece that appeared in the Virginian-Pilot and other publications.
Looking forward, Patterson sees the Moton Museum as anchor for Farmville as well as for the region and the country. “I feel like the caretaker of an important story,” he said, “and I hope to continue in that role.”
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