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Hallie Q. Brown
Teacher - Elocutionist - Writer
by Mrs. Karl F. Ritter
If any of the Central State University students at Wilberforce speak of "going over to Hallie Q,"
you can be certain that they are on their way to the campus library, since at its dedication it was most
appropriately named the "Hallie Q. Brown Memorial Library" to honor one of Wilberforce's most brilliant and
dynamic graduates.
Soon after her birth in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1849, Hallie Q. (for Quinn, but she always
used just the initial) moved to Chatham, Ontario, Canada. It was in the Canadian schools
that her talent as a speaker was first evident. Wanting special training for their gifted daughter,
the family returned to Wilberforce, Ohio, where Hallie enrolled at the university, receiving her B.S.
degree in 1873. She taught for several years in the South at plantation schools, Allen University and
Tuskegee Institute, before returning to her alma mater as professor of elocution and trustee.
Her fame as a speaker and dramatic reader spread when she spoke on the tours designed to
promote interest in and raise money for the school. She charmed audiences with recitations from the
works of Paul Laurence Dunbar and lectures on such subjects as "Progress of Negro Education," "Status of the
Afro-American Woman Before and After the War," and "Negro Folklore and Folksong." Becoming popular throughout
the United States as well as in Germany, France, Switzerland and Great Britain, she had the
distinction of appearing before Queen Victoria in 1899.
Possessing an eager and inquiring mind and boundless energy, Hallie often was
ahead of her time in many of her interests and activities. She could be adamant in her
opinions, but she was willing to stand by her convictions and was not afraid of reprisals.
Vigorous in her efforts for women, she served as president of both the Ohio State Federation and
the National Assocation of Colored Women. She participated in many national and international
movements of her day, and was a member of the Royal Geographic Society of Scotland and the
International Women's Congress of London.
She was also active in politics for a number of years. In 1920 she campaigned
and was a speaker at the 1924 Republication Convention. Moreover, she was the author of
several books, including: Tales My Father Told; Homespun Heroines; and Other Women of Distinction.
Never losing her interest in contemporary problems, Hallie Q. Brown
continued active throughout an exceptionally long and productive life, until her death in 1949.
This article was first published in the 1974 Ohioana Year Book. At the time,
Mrs. Karl F. Ritter was the Ohioana Chair for Allen County.
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