SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY

At 19, Patrice began writing secretly about her pain–her self-hatred, anger and dissolution in the world. She wrote what she today calls “bad poetry.” Writing made her feel better, less angry. She came to believe there was healing magic in writing. So she took creative writing and English classes and studied. Eventually, while working as a researcher at the Charlotte News in Charlotte, N.C., she was chosen for a fellowship in the Summer Program for Minority Journalists, an independent program then housed at the University of California, Berkeley.

Ignited by other people’s faith in her talent, Patrice became a reporter, working at the Miami News, the Washington Star and then for 16 years at the Washington Post, where she garnered awards for stories about ordinary people overcoming extraordinary challenges.

Today, she is the author of two books–her bestselling memoir Laughing in the Dark–From Colored Girl to Woman of Color, A Journey From Prison to Power; and her inspirational Moments of Grace–Meeting the Challenge to Change.

She has finished a third book, Digging for God, which will be published sometime this year or early 2019.

Patrice has been a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show and was featured on a segment of NBC Dateline. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Essence and the New York Times Magazine. She has been a commentator on several National Public Radio shows, including “All Things Considered.”

Patrice tells her story across the country, also speaking about such related issues as race and racism, rape and sexual abuse, mass incarceration, drug rehabilitation and drug laws.