In 1980, Dennis Patterson started his first professional role at the Idaho National Laboratory. Having grown up in Idaho Falls, he had worked at INL in the summers during college as a laborer. Although he was hired after the establishment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1965, Patterson says he faced discrimination as a Black and Native American man in a mostly white facility.

However, his upbringing prepared him to rise above these challenges, as catalogued in his memoir “Black Pearl: Living Black in Idaho.” Idaho Matters talks with Patterson about his experience living and working in the Gem State.

Disclosure notice: INL is a financial supporter of Boise State Public Radio.