Anna Easter Brown (April 13, 1879 – March 5, 1957) was a part of the original nine group of twenty founders in

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...

sorority. It was the first sorority founded by African-American women students. It has had a continuing legacy of generating

social capital Social capital is "the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively". It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interpersonal relationships ...

for over 100 years. Brown also completed graduate work at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. As an educator at the high school level in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

for nearly 42 years, she had a critical role in teaching the next generations. With her outstanding qualifications, she maintained a high academic standard. Brown also developed exhibits to teach the community about African-American history. She helped found the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

Rocky Mount, North Carolina Rocky Mount is a city in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Edgecombe and Nash County, North Carolina, Nash counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The city's population was 54,341 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it ...

, and expanded Alpha Kappa Alpha by founding a local chapter. These institutions created social capital.

Early life

Born on

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, Anna Brown was the daughter of Beverly and Lawrie Brown. Anna Brown graduated from West Orange High School in 1897, with honors. She was well-prepared for Howard University, the top historically black college in the nation. It was a time when only 1/3 of 1% of African Americans and 5% of whites of eligible age attended any college.

Founding of Alpha Kappa Alpha

At Howard University, Brown worked as the chief evening

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

while she completed classes at the Teachers College Department. On January 15, 1908, Brown along with eight other women helped to found Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Brown served as the first treasurer of the sorority. She also composed a sorority song. She helped write the final draft of the sorority's constitution and bylaws. During the planning sessions, she documented the sorority's history for the future.McNealey 2006, p. 30. Brown graduated in 1909 with a B.Ed.

Teaching and later life

Brown completed further graduate study at

. After graduation, Brown worked at Bricks School in Bricks, North Carolina, from 1909 to 1926. During her time in Bricks, she also traveled nationally and wrote articles for the National Urban League's magazine '' Opportunity''. In 1925 Brown moved to Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and continued her career in education. She worked as a history teacher at Booker T. Washington High School in Rocky Mount for nearly 30 years, from 1926 until 1952. Brown was a charter member of the Chi Omega chapter in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, in 1925, when she also served as president of the chapter. She was also a founding member of Rocky Mount's

. Brown promoted community learning about Negro History by developing local exhibits, which she arranged annually. Her twenty-sixth exhibit received national coverage. Brown died on March 5, 1957.

References

External links

Biography at Virginia Commonwealth UniversityHonoring the Past: Alpha Kappa Alpha FoundersCentennial Celebration: Founders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Anna Easter 1879 births 1957 deaths African-American women academics African-American non-fiction writers American non-fiction writers People from West Orange, New Jersey West Orange High School (New Jersey) alumni Alpha Kappa Alpha founders Academics from New Jersey 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics