Hallie Quinn Brown

It's been a while since I have read about Hallie Quinn Brown, probably some decades. Can I tell you the more I read the more I am just fascinated with her life as an activist, educator, writer and elocutionist? That's right she was probably one of the first well known spoken word artist. You'll find in the passage below where she foreshadows the listening to recitations of poetry at parlors in the evenings as a popular thing. I don't know about you but that's spoken word. It is an art form that is enjoyed by many.

It never ceases to amaze me that black women during this time like Coppin, Cooper, Hawkins Brown and others were doing so much with so little. And yes we can admit with a critical lens that at times "The lifting as we climb " mantra was in pursuit of approval of white folks or the white gaze and some classism "fo sho" but I am still amazed. I am still in awe. This woman worked with Frederick Douglass. In fact he sponsored her trip to travel to Europe. Come on Black Man!

I also learned that Hallie Quinn Brown would take some of her speeches and recite them in Black English Vernacular or African America Vernacular English. I immediately thought of Hurston and her anthropological studies of black folks in the South. You see Hallie saw elocution as a way for black folks to crystalize their ideas and thoughts and not necessarily as a way to become accepted by and/or emulate white people.

At one time she was known one of the best, if not the best elocutionist in the country and Britain. However, you will never hear or read her name in speech, language or elocution theories. Isn't that something? And I didn't even get to the work she did at Central State, Tuskegee and Allen. See what I mean.. The woman was "baddd". This work,Bits and Odds was published in 1884. It is one of several books that she wrote.

I started a little something for Hallie- to be continued

"They could never render you speechless for when you spoke emotion met intellect and birthed something inexplictable. You opened your mouth wide, really wide and they saw letters dance to the rhythm of your truth. Words floated from the tip of your tongue like a beautiful butterfly taking flight...now free from her chrysalis."