Well, here we go again — another tenured professor at an elite institution who apparently thinks the best way to promote unity and progress is by glorifying a 19th-century axe-wielding vigilante who thought cold-blooded murder was a fine way to start a conversation.
Stacey Patton, a journalism professor at Howard University (yes, journalism), penned a blog post recently that, in any sane era, would’ve sparked instant outrage across the ideological spectrum. Instead? Crickets from the usual corners of academia and polite society. Because when it’s “woke,” it’s apparently fine — even if it encourages political violence.
In her post, Patton tells well-meaning White liberals to stop asking how to be good allies. You know, things like listening, learning, working alongside others peacefully — that’s too exhausting, she says. Instead, she encourages them to “be like John Brown.” Not figuratively. Not as a metaphor. She name-drops a man who literally dragged people from their homes and hacked them to death with broadswords. Yes, that John Brown. The same one who led an armed raid on a federal facility in a failed bid to ignite a nationwide insurrection. The same one whose actions led to civilian deaths, including a freed Black man who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. A man hanged for treason — and rightly so.
Howard University professor calls on White political allies to emulate vigilante mass murderer.
Journalism professor Stacey Patton points to militant John Brown in recent blog post about allyship. https://t.co/hJTwDwQle7— Gianno Caldwell (@GiannoCaldwell) October 22, 2025
According to Patton, that’s the kind of “allyship” America needs today. Because nothing says “progress” like asking modern-day supporters of equity to model themselves after a guy who was the pre-Civil War equivalent of a domestic terrorist.
And here’s the kicker — she’s not writing this in some fringe pamphlet passed out in dark alleyways. She’s teaching journalism to students at a prominent university in our nation’s capital. You know, the same journalism that’s supposed to be grounded in truth, objectivity, and the responsible sharing of ideas? Apparently, “responsibility” now includes encouraging people to “burn” something so others can “breathe,” as she so eloquently put it. Are we just supposed to ignore the implication here?
To be fair, she did include a single throwaway line saying that White allies don’t have to die like John Brown. Oh, how generous. But not before casually pointing out that “someone always does.” It’s that kind of language — passive, ominous, reckless — that blurs the line between edgy rhetoric and ideological cheerleading for radical action. If a conservative professor even hinted that his students should model themselves after a right-wing militant — say, someone who led an armed standoff against federal agents — the media would have a field day. Tenure or not, they’d be out the door before the echo of the soundbite faded from the morning news cycle.
But when the radical hero in question is cloaked in progressive virtue, and the target of criticism is “White goodness,” well, suddenly it’s “academic freedom.” Suddenly, it’s “just a metaphor.” Suddenly, the university releases a tepid statement condemning violence in general and reminds everyone it supports the First Amendment. Sure. As long as that amendment is being exercised from the left.
Let’s not ignore the timing here, either. This comes as a member of the John Brown Gun Club — yes, that’s a real thing, and yes, it’s named after that John Brown — was recently charged with attempted murder after a shootout with federal agents. The same group that the Counter Extremism Project calls “far-left.” And yet somehow, we’re supposed to separate the historical glorification from the real-world consequences? If you believe that, I’ve got some critical race theory textbooks to sell you.
🚨A journalism professor calling for death as “action” isn’t free speech, it’s incitement.
Stacey Patton has crossed a moral and professional line that no educator should.
Howard University must act fast, silence here equals endorsement.
Academia can’t claim integrity while… pic.twitter.com/njD43xyaf2
— TheCommonVoice (@MaxRumbleX) October 22, 2025
Look, no one’s denying that slavery was a monstrous evil or that John Brown’s motivations came from a place of moral conviction. But the man took the law into his own hands and committed murder to make a political point. If that’s what a modern professor wants her followers to emulate — even rhetorically — then we’re not talking about civil rights anymore. We’re talking about radicalism disguised as activism, violence dressed up as virtue.
And here’s the reality: this isn’t just about one professor. It’s about the creeping normalization of political violence from the left — as long as it’s dressed up in high-minded language and stamped with the approval of a progressive cause. We’ve watched as violent radicals are rebranded as “activists,” as rioting is dismissed as “mostly peaceful,” and now, apparently, as terrorist icons are reframed as role models.
It’s dangerous. It’s dishonest. And it’s exactly what happens when ideology replaces education.
