James Oglethorpe Patterson Jr. (28 May 1935 – 25 June 2011) was a Holiness Pentecostal minister in the Church of God in Christ and a former mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, the first African-American to hold the office.

He practiced law and then became active in state and local political life as a state representative for one term, a state senator for two terms, a Memphis City Councilman for five terms and interim mayor of Memphis (for 20 days total) in 1982, following the resignation of J. Wyeth Chandler; after the statutory 20 days, he was succeeded by Wallace Madewell for a short period.

He served as the pastor of the Pentecostal Temple Church Of God In Christ in Memphis, Tennessee a congregation of 2,500 active members, the Jurisdictional Prelate of the denomination's 1st Ecclesiastical Headquarters Jurisdiction of Tennessee and the COGIC, Inc. Chairman of the General Assembly.

Bishop Patterson served as the president of J. O. Patterson Mortuary, Inc., a contributing writer for the Official COGIC Manual, a member of the COGIC Legal Counsel, a member of the board of directors of the C. H. Mason Foundation, a developer of many inner-city and urban initiatives.

His funeral was held on July 1, 2011 at the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ in Memphis, Tennessee.