This piece breaks down a stirring campus controversy where a Howard University professor’s praise of John Brown has sparked sharp criticism from conservative voices. I’ll lay out the key quotes, the historical context of Brown’s violent actions, the contemporary campus fallout with “John Brown” branding, and why critics say this is part of a larger problem in higher education.
Howard University professor Stacy Patton drew attention for recommending a violent abolitionist as a model for white allies. “So when white allies ask, ‘What can I do?’ Here’s the answer: Be like John Brown. Ask yourself, what am I willing to burn so somebody else can breathe?” Patton’s words landed like a grenade in a conversation already tense over campus rhetoric.
Conservative commentator Sara Gonzales didn’t hold back in her response, noting the absurdity she sees in academic credentials being used as cover. “You see the Ph.D. next to her name, as if that means anything any more. In fact, usually, these days, Ph.D. is just a signal that you’re crazy,” Gonzales said, and she added, “So this woman is advocating for white political allies to emulate [a] vigilante mass murderer.”
John Brown is not a mild historical footnote. He led the Pottawatomie massacre in 1856, where he and his men dragged settlers from their homes and executed them, and he was later tried for treason and hanged. Historians can argue Brown’s motives, but his tactics were violent and deliberate, not the quiet civil courage some today want to romanticize.
Gonzales spelled out the danger she sees in celebrating Brown: “So this is the guy that this woman is glorifying. And by the way, he didn’t sacrifice himself. He slaughtered innocent men to ignite a race war. This is the guy that a college professor is calling for modern white progressives to take up his torch,” she warned, pointing to the real-world risk of normalizing violence.
On campuses now, that rhetoric has taken a visible form. Flyers promoting “The John Brown Club” have appeared at multiple schools, carrying slogans like “Hey, Fascist! Catch,” a phrase tied in reported accounts to an actual bullet used in a brutal attack. The flyers also reportedly include lines like “The only political group that celebrates when Nazis die,” a message that leans into outright condoning of lethal threat.
Gonzales linked the club name to Antifa activity, saying “The John Brown Club” is now “just used as a collective group name for Antifa.” She noted past incidents where people tied to that label committed violent acts, implying that the symbolic language on posters isn’t harmless theater but the kind of symbolism that precedes violence.
She went further about intent and influence, arguing the professor’s words are not neutral academic musings. “So in reality, this woman knows that she is in fact glorifying a man who represents that. A man who represents violence being carried out across the streets in this country. She knows that she has a direct influence over the next generation. She knows that she is of course trying to instigate these people into committing crimes,” Gonzales continued.
That claim leads to a larger conservative critique of modern universities: they are shifting from education to indoctrination. “These professors are not educating these students any more. They are there to simply radicalize them,” Gonzales added, and critics say Patton’s post is an example of that trend writ plainly.
What matters for parents, taxpayers, and policymakers is the real effect of that classroom influence. When teachers elevate violent historical figures as templates for action, it does not occur in a vacuum; students take cues, campus groups adopt branding, and the boundaries of acceptable political behavior shift. Those are the stakes behind this row of quotes, controversy, and campus flyers.
