Patti J. Malone
Patti J. Malone (born 1858, at Cedars Plantation in Athens, Alabama), was best known as a mezzo-soprano vocalist. Malone was born into slavery in antebellum Alabama and was sold to the Clack Plantation in Texas. Her hometown was the scene of numerous clashes between Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War, as well as alleged atrocities committed against the civilian population by the former. Later in life, Malone recounted scars her mother received from their owners, as well as her anxiety when her mother helped secrete their owner from patrolling Union troops. After the war, Malone enrolled in the Trinity School, a school for the children of former slaves founded by the American Missionary Association in Athens. Malone’s enrollment at Trinity was not without cost or risk, because local residents refused to hire African-Americans who sent their children to the school. As a child, Malone was forced to work for her former owner’s family as a condition of her mother’s employment. Despite this, and considerable harassment and intimidation from white children in the community, she was able to pursue her education at Trinity. She is reported to have been so determined to secure an education, that she would attend