Who was Charlotte Hawkins Brown?
Return to the Hawkins Brown Room Palmer Memorial Institute, located east of Greensboro, began in 1902 as a rural African American school and succeeded as a unique private school, for more than 60 years. Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown was its founder and leader for 50 of those years. She was born in Henderson in 1883 to descendants of slaves. In 1888 the family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, near Boston, to escape “Jim Crow” practices of the South and to obtain a better chance at social, economic, and educational growth. Though she was one of few blacks in Cambridge’s schools, young Brown was an excellent student, and by chance she met educator Alice Freeman Palmer, who became her mentor. Palmer was so impressed by Brown’s diligence at pursuing an advanced education that she helped sponsor Brown’s schooling. Palmer also introduced Brown to many important people in Boston, society people she would later approach to help with her school. The Beginning of a Dream After a year of junior co
