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The Context Window with David Deming Podcast

The Context Window with David Deming Podcast

Deval Patrick is not a "self-made" man

Jun 17, 2026 · 51 min · 11 segments

Deval Patrick grew up in a South Side Chicago tenement, sharing one of two beds with his mother and sister, and went on to become the first Black…

Deval Patrick grew up in a South Side Chicago tenement, sharing one of two beds with his mother and sister, and went on to become the first Black governor of Massachusetts. But in this conversation with Harvard Dean David Deming, he keeps correcting the version of that story people like to tell. His life did not begin with the scholarship to Milton Academy, he insists, but years earlier, with the teachers in crowded Chicago classrooms who decided he was worth the trouble — a lottery ticket, he says, is only as good as what you make of it. Along the way he saved a man ninety minutes from execution, sued Bill Clinton and then went to work for him, became the country's top civil-rights official before forty, and ran for president for about fifteen minutes. Holding it together is the line his grandmother gave him: we are not poor, we are broke, because broke is temporary. Patrick served as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights under President Clinton and two terms as Governor of Massachusetts. He returned to Harvard in 2022 to teach at the Kennedy School. For show notes and full episodes, subscribe to The Context Window with David Deming: https://thecontextwindowpodcast.substack.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecontextwindowpodcast.substack.com

Deval Patrick grew up in a South Side Chicago tenement, sharing one of two beds with his mother and sister, and went on to become the first Black…

Speakers: Deval PatrickGuestDavid DemingHost

Top entities: Deval Patrick×36 Harvard University×28 Peter J. Gomes×10 Bill Clinton×13 David Deming×7

Harvard Arrival & South-Side Roots1:32 – 5:32

David DemingHost

1:32

Governor Patrick.

Deval PatrickGuest

1:33

Dean David.

David DemingHost

1:34

[laughs] So you arrived at Harvard in 1974.

David DemingHost

1:38

What did it feel like the first day you walked into Harvard Yard?

Deval PatrickGuest

1:40

So I'd spent four years nearby-

David DemingHost

1:42

Yeah

Deval PatrickGuest

1:43

... at Milton Academy, um, the first place I had heard the name Harvard.

David DemingHost

1:48

Yeah.

Deval PatrickGuest

1:48

I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, and we didn't...

Deval PatrickGuest

1:50

I mean, there was always, uh, an expectation that I, I had for long before Milton Academy that I would go to college one day.

David DemingHost

1:58

Yeah.

Deval PatrickGuest

1:59

Always encouraged to believe that-

David DemingHost

2:00

Yeah

Deval PatrickGuest

2:01

... um, from my, uh, family.

Deval PatrickGuest

2:03

But the apparatus-

David DemingHost

2:04

Yeah

Deval PatrickGuest

2:04

... for applying to college was unfamiliar.

David DemingHost

2:07

Huh.

Deval PatrickGuest

2:07

At Milton, it was a science, right?

David DemingHost

2:09

Yeah, of course.

Deval PatrickGuest

2:09

There was an office and a whole structure, uh, for that, and I applied to five schools, and I got into all five.

Deval PatrickGuest

2:14

And, uh, five, I think, is a small number compared to what people do today.

David DemingHost

2:18

It only takes one, though.

Deval PatrickGuest

2:19

Yeah, indeed.

David DemingHost

2:20

[laughs]

Deval PatrickPersonLawyer and former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice
99%36 mentions
Harvard UniversityCollege or UniversityPrivate university in Cambridge, Massachusetts
98%28 mentions
Peter J. GomesPersonAmerican preacher and theologian
96%10 mentions
Bill ClintonPerson42nd U.S. President
94%13 mentions
David DemingPersonDean of Harvard College
93%7 mentions
South SidePlaceNeighborhood in Chicago, Illinois
91%5 mentions
ChicagoCityCity in Illinois
90%9 mentions
Jayden QuaintancePersonSan Antonio Spurs forward
88%3 mentions
Milton AcademySchoolPrivate school in Milton, Massachusetts
87%9 mentions
MassachusettsAdministrative AreaUS state
85%7 mentions
Maya AngelouPersonAmerican memoirist and essayist
83%3 mentions
Harvard Law SchoolCollege or UniversityLaw school in Cambridge, Massachusetts
82%5 mentions
Lani GuinierPersonAmerican legal professional
80%2 mentions
United States Department of JusticeGovernment OrganizationGovernment department
79%8 mentions
Harvard Kennedy SchoolCollege or UniversityGraduate school in Cambridge, Massachusetts
77%3 mentions
WikiEntity
75%1 mention
Civil and political rightsEntity
74%2 mentions
BostonCityCity in Massachusetts
72%4 mentions
Boston MarathonTourist AttractionMarathon in Boston, Massachusetts
71%3 mentions
United States Department of Justice Civil Rights DivisionGovernment OrganizationGovernment department
69%4 mentions
Barack ObamaPerson44th U.S. President
67%5 mentions
Hillary ClintonPersonLawyer and former United States Secretary of State
66%2 mentions
context windowPlace
64%2 mentions
Harvard YardLandmarkPark in Cambridge, Massachusetts
63%2 mentions
Democratic PartyOrganizationPolitical party
61%5 mentions
Cold openEntity
60%1 mention
SubstackSoftware ApplicationWebsite
58%2 mentions
EnglishEntitySpoken language
56%5 mentions
Federal Bureau of InvestigationGovernment OrganizationFederal agency
55%1 mention
Jim Crow lawsEntity
53%1 mention
The Sound of MusicMovie1965 film
52%1 mention
World warEntity
50%2 mentions
Supreme Court of AlabamaOrganizationCourt
48%2 mentions
Republican PartyOrganizationPolitical party
47%3 mentions
Harvard CollegeCollege or UniversityCollege in Cambridge, Massachusetts
45%1 mention
Kennedy SchoolEntityHotel in Portland, Oregon
44%2 mentions
United StatesCountryCountry in North America
42%7 mentions
American Broadcasting CompanyTheater GroupTelevision broadcasting company
40%1 mention
Memorial Church of Harvard UniversityEntityChurch in Cambridge, Massachusetts
39%1 mention
New EnglandAdministrative AreaRegion in the United States of America
37%1 mention
Ted KennedyPersonLawyer and former United States Senator
36%1 mention
Air Force OneEntity
34%1 mention
New TestamentBookSacred scripture
33%1 mention
ConstitutionEntity
31%1 mention
James Earl JonesPersonAmerican actor
29%1 mention
Affordable Care ActEntity
28%2 mentions
United KingdomCountryCountry in Europe
26%1 mention
New YorkCityCity in New York State
25%1 mention
Bryan StevensonPersonExecutive director of the Equal Justice Initiative
22%1 mention
Innocence ProjectCompanyNonprofit organization
22%1 mention

Society
Social IssuesSociety > Community Engagement
GovernorshipPolitics > Political Leadership
Harvard UniversityEducation > Higher Education > University Life
Civil Rights MovementHistory > American History
Political FiguresHistory > American History > Civil Rights Movement
American HistoryHistory
University LifeEducation > Higher Education
Civil RightsSociety > Community Engagement > Social Issues
Legal CareerLaw
Community EngagementSociety
Political LeadershipPolitics
Civil Rights LawLaw > Legal Career
Law
Politics
History
Education
Deval PatrickEducation > Higher Education > University Life > Harvard University
Deval PatrickPolitics > Political Leadership > Governorship
MassachusettsPolitics > Political Leadership > Governorship > Deval Patrick
Deval PatrickSociety > Community Engagement > Social Issues > Civil Rights
NAACP Legal Defense FundLaw > Legal Career > Civil Rights Law
Deval PatrickLaw > Legal Career > Civil Rights Law > NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Deval PatrickHistory > American History > Civil Rights Movement > Political Figures
Higher EducationEducation

Harvard Arrival & South-Side Roots1:32 – 5:32

David DemingHost

1:32

Governor Patrick.

Deval PatrickGuest

1:33

Dean David.

David DemingHost

1:34

[laughs] So you arrived at Harvard in 1974.

David DemingHost

1:38

What did it feel like the first day you walked into Harvard Yard?

Deval PatrickGuest

1:40

So I'd spent four years nearby-

David DemingHost

1:42

Yeah

Deval PatrickGuest

1:43

... at Milton Academy, um, the first place I had heard the name Harvard.

David DemingHost

1:48

Yeah.

Deval PatrickGuest

1:48

I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, and we didn't...

Deval PatrickGuest

1:50

I mean, there was always, uh, an expectation that I, I had for long before Milton Academy that I would go to college one day.

David DemingHost

1:58

Yeah.

Deval PatrickGuest

1:59

Always encouraged to believe that-

David DemingHost

2:00

Yeah

Deval PatrickGuest

2:01

... um, from my, uh, family.

Deval PatrickGuest

2:03

But the apparatus-

David DemingHost

2:04

Yeah

Deval PatrickGuest

2:04

... for applying to college was unfamiliar.

David DemingHost

2:07

Huh.

Deval PatrickGuest

2:07

At Milton, it was a science, right?

David DemingHost

2:09

Yeah, of course.

Deval PatrickGuest

2:09

There was an office and a whole structure, uh, for that, and I applied to five schools, and I got into all five.

Deval PatrickGuest

2:14

And, uh, five, I think, is a small number compared to what people do today.

David DemingHost

2:18

It only takes one, though.

Deval PatrickGuest

2:19

Yeah, indeed.

David DemingHost

2:20

[laughs]

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