Patrick Grey

Patrick Grey will be mentored by Dr. Christopher Bonner, Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, College park, Douglas McElrath, Director of Special Collections and University Archives at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Lae'l Hughes-Watkins, Associate Director for Engagement, Inclusion and Reparative Archiving, at the University of Maryland, College Park, as part of The 1856 Project. Born in Lima, Peru, Patrick Grey is a first-generation student at the University of Florida (UF), majoring in History and Spanish. He is part of UF's University Scholars Program and was recently designated as a Beinecke Scholar, the first designee from UF in fifteen years, and the fourth in university history. With this prestigious award, Patrick plans to pursue a Ph.D. in History focusing on the role of slavery in the U.S. in the 19th century. He intends to earn a professorship to mentor students and encourage them to recognize history's role in African American communities in the Americas. Based on his prior research with the UF Center for African Studies, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, and the Department of History's Inquire Capitalism Program, Patrick is determined to use his knowledge of newspaper archives, oral history, linguistics, and the digital humanities in his future work. The purpose of his work is to advance research on the African Diaspora and aid those wronged by history to create a path towards true equity.