Charlotte Hawkins Brown

This chapter explores the life and legacy of Dr. Charlotte Eugenia Hawkins Brown (1883–1961). Born less than one generation removed from chattel slavery, Brown arose as an example of early women school founders striving to educate for emancipation against racism, sexism, classism, and colorism. The Jim Crow era was characterized by a strong connection between education and activism. Brown epitomized this period. In advocating for women’s rights as well as those of Black Americans, Brown shared the same perspective as her close friends, Dr. Mary Mcleod Bethune and Nanny Helen Burroughs. Brown’s ultimate accomplishment was founding the Palmer Memorial Institute (PMI) in Sedalia, NC, an elite middle-class boarding school for Black American students. PMI’s educational legacy was founded on the pragmatism of Booker T. Washington and the intellectual consciousness of DuBois. As the founder and president of Palmer Memorial Institute, Brown educated and trained almost 2,000 Black scholars and leaders, earning her the distinction of education advisor to the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. While contemporary scholars raise new questions about her respectability politics, Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown’s legacy of activism and academic excellence solidifies her place as one of education’s most revolutionary thinkers.