Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, 1883 - 1961
A remarkable example of achievement in the face of segregation and discrimination, Charlotte Hawkins Brown was buried on the grounds of the school she led for fifty years.
Charlotte Hawkins Brown was born in Vance County, North Carolina, the granddaughter of a slave. She grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While in college there, training to be a teacher, she accepted a position with the American Missionary Association to teach school at Bethany Church here in Sedalia.
Over her career, Dr. Brown became a noted public speaker, traveling throughout the United States and abroad. In 1945, she spoke at the International Congress of Women in Paris. Additional achievements include: Founder and long-serving president of the N.C. Federation of Negro Women's Clubs; Vice-president of the National Council of Negro Women; First African American elected to the board of the National YWCA; Author,The Correct Thing to Do, to Say, to Wear.
After the Bethany School closed in 1902, this dynamic woman opened Palmer Memorial Institute on this site, setting high standards of conduct and achievement for students. Through her determination, vision, and tireless fundraising, Palmer grew to become a nationally known, secondary academy for African American youth.
After years of declining health, Dr. Brown died on January 11, 1961. Hundreds of mourners attended her funeral, held in the Alice Freeman Palmer Building. In 1976, the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life & History honored Dr. Brown with the adjacent marker.
Marker can be reached from US Highway 70.
Courtesy hmdb.org
