A professor of gynecology at Morehouse and one of George Gey’s only African American students. Pattillo organizes a cancer control symposium in honor of Henrietta. He is Rebecca’s original link to the Lackses. Pattillo is very protective of the family, and he helps Rebecca contact them only after he is sure of her good intentions.
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Roland Pattillo Character Timeline in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The timeline below shows where the character Roland Pattillo appears in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6: “Lady’s on the Phone”
...at Morehouse College, a distinguished and historically black college. A professor at Morehouse named Roland Pattillo created the symposium—he is one of the few African Americans who studied with George Gey.When...
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On the phone with Pattillo, Rebecca displays her knowledge of the mistreatment of African Americans by the scientific establishment. She...
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Pattillo informs Rebecca that he’s organizing the next HeLa conference. He mentions that Deborah Lacks lives...
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After three days of phone calls, Roland Pattillo at last gives Deborah’sphone number to Rebecca. He tells her the “do’s and don’ts” for...
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Chapter 28: After London
...whole family. They even follow the Lackses to a conference in Atlanta organized by Roland Pattillo in Henrietta’s honor.
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Pattillo, Rebecca explains, grew up in a segregated town in Louisiana. After becoming the first in...
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...the hospital, she’s told that she almost had a stroke. A few weeks later, Roland Pattillo gets in touch with Deborah to tell her that a reporter—Rebecca—wants to write about Henrietta.
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