Linda Beatrice Brown is an American author and educator. She was born in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

, and went to college 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 ...

Bennett College Bennett College is a private historically black liberal arts college for women in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was founded in 1873 as a normal school to educate freedmen and train both men and women as teachers. Originally coed, in 1926 it ...

. While in North Carolina, she won several awards for her writing in both fiction and nonfiction. Brown has published many books, including ''Belles of Liberty'', ''Black Angels'', ''Crossing Over Jordan'' and ''The Long Walk''. The genres and styles of writing in which she wrote include fiction, nonfiction, playwriting and poetry. Many of her works are centered on the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

and the struggles that can be rooted back to

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

during the time of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

Biography

Early life

Brown was born in Ohio, the daughter of Raymond R. Brown and Edith Player Brown. She moved to

to pursue her education at the collegiate level. She attended Bennett College, while her aunt

Willa Beatrice Player Willa Beatrice Player (August 9, 1909 – August 29, 2003) was an American educator, college administrator, college president, civil rights activist, and federal appointee. Player was the first African-American woman to become president of a four- ...

was the president, and majored in English and French. She graduated as the valedictorian of her graduating class at Bennett. After undergrad, she attended graduate school at Case Western Reserve University where she got her master's degree. Moving back to Ohio, she received her PhD in African American Literature and Creative Writing from Union Institute and University.

Career

Brown has been an educator at schools and universities including

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...

, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and finally

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society o ...

. Presently, she is the Willa B. Player Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Bennett College for Women. She teaches African American literature there.

Awards and nominations

Brown has received awards during her time in North Carolina. These include 2nd place in the Creative Writing Contest at her college, 1st place in fiction writing from the NC Coalition of the Arts and a residency at the Headlands Center.

Published works

;Books *''A Love Song to Black Men''. Broadside Press. 1975. *''Rainbow 'Roun Mah Shoulder''. Ballantine Press. 1989. *''Crossing Over Jordan, a novel''. Ballantine Press. 1995. *''The Long Walk: The Story of the Presidency of Willa B. Player at Bennett College''. Bennett College Women's Leadership Institute. 1999. ;Articles *"Beloved, A Book Review," in ''Religion and Intellectual Life'', vol.3, Spring, 1988. *"Treasure," a short story in ''O. Henry Festival Stories'', Transverse Press. 1995. *"Poetry," in ''Word and Witness''. Carolina Academic Press. 1999. ;Drama *''Congo's River Song'', a one-act play produced by the North Carolina Museum of Art, Oct 13, 2001. *''Dangerous Pretty'' Produced as a one-act play, North Carolina Museum of Art, 1999. *"Dangerous Pretty", fiction in ''The Store of Joys'', ed. Houston Paschal. The North Carolina Museum of Art. 1997.

References

Bennett College Dr. Linda Beatrice Brown

External links

Linda Beatrice Brown
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Linda Beatrice Bennett College alumni African-American women writers American women writers African-American writers 1939 births Writers from Akron, Ohio Living people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women