Skip to content
Marianne Dhenin
Sign in Subscribe

How the Black School Movement Shaped America

Historian Ida Jones explains the radical vision of schools like Charlotte Hawkins Brown’s Palmer Memorial Institute.

By Marianne Dhenin
A black-and-white photo of nine black students working around two tables with typewriters, loose papers, and a camera. There is a large bookshelf and two large windows in the background.
Student journalists writing for the Palmer Memorial Institute's student paper. Photo from the Griffith J. Davis Collection at Duke University Libraries, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Published:
Share to X Share to Bluesky Share to Facebook Share to LinkedIn Share by email

This July, the United States will mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence — a document whose promises of liberty and justice for all remain unfulfilled. The anniversary comes as a regressive right-wing political movement is hard at work rewriting historical programming at public institutions, including national parks, museums, and public schools. Its goal is to erase the histories of communities of color and the systemic inequalities and racism that these communities have long endured in our imperfect union.

To uplift some of the histories of America’s leaders of color, this week’s newsletter features reporting on a historic Black school in North Carolina and an interview with historian Ida Jones about the independent Black school movement and Charlotte Hawkins Brown, the Black woman educator who founded said school. Jones is the author of Mary McLeod Bethune in Washington, D.C.: Education and Activism in Logan Circle, which details the life and work of another Southern-born Black educator and civil rights activist.

Historic Black School at Heart of Development Plans in North Carolina Town
The Palmer Memorial Institute campus, once home to Charlotte Hawkins Brown, will continue to anchor Sedalia as the town grows.
Marianne DheninMarianne Dhenin
Mary McLeod Bethune in Washington, D.C.: Activism and Education in Logan Circle
Activism and Education in Logan Circle
History Press Library EditionsIda E Jones and Dr Elizabeth Clark-Lewis PhD

Purchasing Dr. Jones's book via this affiliate link will support me and indie bookshops!

You'll have to upgrade to read the full interview. The good news is you can grab a one-month free trial at this link.

Jones identifies Brown’s Palmer Memorial Institute as one of four prominent schools for Black children founded and led by Black women educators during the Progressive Era. Brown’s historic school was recognized as a North Carolina State Historic Site in 1987 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Thanks to an ambitious preservation and adaptive reuse plan announced this year, the campus is now on its way to once again welcoming learners with new educational and artistic opportunities.

Jones and I spoke about the independent Black school movement of which Brown was an integral part, as well as what set her and her school apart from others founded during the same era.