A Critical Study of the Life and Times of Hallie Quinn Brown

Abstract

Hallie Quinn Brown, an African American elocutionist of the late 19th and early 20th century, has recently been added to the pantheon of ancestors who deserve inclusion in historical accounts of speech-language pathology in America. This study, a critical analysis of her life and contributions, reveals a “double consciousness” in her cultural identity. While campaigning for full societal inclusion of the culturally marginalized, she also embraced an exclusionary politics of respectability, of “racial uplift.”  This double perspective is evident in her treatment of dialect differences. At times she promoted the use of different dialects, especially of African American English, and at other times she expressed linguicist attitudes. It is argued that while Hallie Quinn Brown is rightfully included as an important figure in the profession’s past as an African American woman who fought for the rights of the marginalized, she also needs to be viewed  through a critical lens that reveals a double consciousness. A full understanding of her life and contributions can better prepare today’s professionals to recognize and confront present-day injustices.