Women’s History Lecture At VGCC Focuses On Henderson-Born Educator

Click here for historical data: http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/hs/chb/chb.htm

Charlotte Hawkins Brown (shown at right at age 35, ca. 1918) is recognized as one of the pioneers of educational opportunity for African-Americans. She was born in Henderson

Vance-Granville Community College wants area people to know more about this important American figure and invites the public to attend a presentation on Wednesday, March 24, at which Lydia Hoffman, site manager of the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Memorial in Sedalia, N.C., will speak. The lecture will be at 12 noon in the VGCC Civic Center.

Soon after her birth in Henderson in 1883, Brown’s family moved to Massachusetts, where she was educated. She returned to North Carolina to teach rural black youth and, after the school in which she was employed closed, Brown started her own school in Sedalia, in Guilford County, in 1902. She named Palmer Memorial Institute, a day and boarding school, for a benefactor.

Under Brown’s leadership, the school became fully accredited, expanded its scope and graduated more than 1,000 African-American youth. Dr. Brown became nationally known as an educator, lecturer, civic rights activist, author and cultural leader. Ten years after her death in 1961, Palmer Institute closed.

The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources established the state’s first historic site honoring the contributions of its African-American citizens on the former Palmer Institute campus. The memorial is operated by the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Historical Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting scholarship, research and the wider preservation and appreciation of North Carolina’s African-American heritage.

Hoffman, the speaker March 24 at VGCC, will discuss Charlotte Hawkins Brown, her contributions, and the work of the foundation.