SEDALIA—The extraordinary story of Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown will take center stage at the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum in Sedalia on Thursday, June 11, in a colorful program featuring poetry, traditional spirituals, tours, and an oral history, which will recall the life and contributions of this 20th century educator and civil rights leader. Presented by the mobile Thankful Heritage Museum, the program will take place from 10 a.m.-noon at the state historic site and is free and open to the public.
“Celebrating the Life and History of Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown” will begin with a performance at the former Palmer Memorial Institute’s Stouffer Hall of old spirituals by the Thankful Community Singers. Next, staff from the state historic site will reflect on Dr. Brown’s life and the history of the site. Thankful Heritage Founder Effley D. Howell Sr. will then recite James Weldon Johnson’s poem “The Creation.”
These presentations will be followed by a discussion of “The Three B’s of Education,” a name that refers to a trio of renowned educators and leaders: Dr. Brown, Bethune-Cookman College (Daytona Beach, Fla.) founder and the only black woman present at the founding of the United Nations Mary McLeod Bethune, and National Training School for Women and Girls (Washington, D.C.) founder and writer Nannie Burrows.
The Brown birthday celebration will continue with a recitation by Jasmine Williams of Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise,” a second poetry presentation by Howell highlighting the role senior citizens play in a healthy community, a second performance of spirituals by the Thankful Community Singers and finally, a discussion on the benefits of philanthropy, specifically highlighting the needs of the former Palmer Memorial Institute, led by Howell. Throughout the program, visitors will have an opportunity to examine a historical memorabilia display assembled by the Thankful Heritage Museum, which traces the lives of African American women, from “Aunt Jemima to Michelle Obama.”
Opened in 1987, Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum State Historic Site honors the late Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown who first began teaching children here in Sedalia in 1902. For 50 years after founding PMI, Dr. Brown labored unceasingly to educate young people, building what started out as a tiny academy into a highly renowned African American prep school.
PMI closed in 1971 but since being turned into a state historic site, five former school buildings have been designated as official projects of Save America’s Treasures, a public-private partnership between the White House Millennium Council and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The museum’s mission is to preserve and interpret the history and legacy of Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, Palmer Memorial Institute and African American education in North Carolina.
It is located in Sedalia on Hwy. 70 between Greensboro and Burlington. Groups of 10 or more are encouraged to make reservations in advance. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and admission is free. The site is located at 6136 Burlington Road, Sedalia, 10 miles east of Greensboro off I-85, exit 135.
For information about the site, visit http://www.chbrownmuseum.nchistoricsites.org, e-mail chb@ncdcr.gov or call (336) 449-4846. More information about Dr. Brown’s birthday program is available from Effley Howell at (336) 995-5146 or e-mail thankfulone2@aol.com.
Administered by the Division of State Historic Sites, Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture through such programs as “Treasure N.C. Culture.” For more information, visit www.ncculture.com.