Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham
Higginbotham with Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Born	1945 (age 79–80) Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin Howard University University of Rochester
Occupation	African American History Professor
Notable work	Righteous Discontent: The Women's Movement in the Black Baptist Church: 1880–1920
Spouse(s)	A. Leon Higginbotham (d. 1998)
Awards	National Humanities Medal

Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (born 1945) is an American professor and historian. She teaches about African American Studies and African American Religion at Harvard University. Professor Higginbotham is known for her important book, Righteous Discontent: The Women's Movement in the Black Baptist Church: 1880–1920. This book won many awards. She has also received several honors for her work, including the National Humanities Medal in 2014.

Early Life and Education

Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham was born in Washington, D.C., in 1945. Her parents were Albert Neal Dow Brooks and Alma Elaine Campbell. Her father worked for the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History. He also edited their Negro History Bulletin. Her mother was a high school history teacher. She later became a supervisor for history in the Washington, D.C. public schools.

Family History and Inspiration

Evelyn often went with her father to his work. This allowed her to meet many important early African American historians. These included Rayford Logan and Benjamin Quarles. She later said that these experiences helped her choose her career. "I knew from childhood that I wanted to teach, research, and write about the history of African Americans," she shared.

Stories from her family also inspired her. Her great-grandfather, Albert Royal Brooks, was born into slavery in Virginia in 1817. After the American Civil War, he served on the jury for former Confederate president Jefferson Davis. Her great-grandmother, Lucy Goode Brooks, started one of the first orphanages for Black children after the Civil War. It was called the Friends Asylum for Colored Orphans. Today, it is still open as FRIENDS Association for Children.

Her grandfather, Walter Henderson Brooks, was a pastor at Nineteenth Street Baptist Church (Washington, D.C.). This is the oldest Black Baptist church in Washington, D.C. Her aunt, Julia Evangeline Brooks, helped start Alpha Kappa Alpha. This was the first African-American sorority.

Higginbotham explained that these family stories helped her love history. They showed her how individual lives can reflect bigger social and political events.

Higginbotham's College Years

In 1969, Higginbotham earned her bachelor's degree in history from the University of Wisconsin. She then received her master's degree in history from Howard University in 1974. In 1975, she got a certificate in Archival Administration. This taught her how to manage historical records.

She also earned a certificate in social science methods from the Newberry Library in 1977. In 1984, she received her Ph.D. in history from the University of Rochester. She married A. Leon Higginbotham, who passed away in 1998.

Career Highlights

Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham began her career teaching. From 1969 to 1971, she taught American history in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She also helped eighth-grade students. After moving to Washington, D.C., she taught American history at Woodrow Wilson High School.

From 1974 to 1975, she worked at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University. She also taught history as a professor at other universities. These included Dartmouth College, the University of Maryland, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Teaching at Harvard University

In 1993, Higginbotham became a professor at Harvard University. She taught Afro-American Studies and African American Religious History. Since 1998, she has been the Victor S. Thomas Professor of History and African American Studies.

In 2006, Higginbotham became the head of Harvard's African American Studies department. In 2008, she was the acting director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African American Research. In 2010, she was also named the first John Hope Franklin Professor of American Legal History at Duke University Law School.

Important Publications and Work

Professor Higginbotham's writings cover many different topics. These include African American religious history, women's history, and civil rights. She also writes about how race and gender identity are formed.

Righteous Discontent

Her most famous book is Righteous Discontent: The Women's Movement in the Black Baptist Church: 1880–1920. This book won many awards. It received honors from the American Historical Association and the American Academy of Religion. It was also named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review in 1992 and 1993.

Other Key Works

Higginbotham also helped update John Hope Franklin's book, From Slavery to Freedom. This book is a survey of African American history. She worked with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. to edit the African American National Biography. This is a 12-volume set with over 5,000 biographies of African Americans.

Her article "African American Women's History and the Metalanguage of Race" won an award in 1993. It is still one of her most often cited and reprinted articles. Higginbotham also helped create the AP African American Studies course. This is a college-level course for high school students.

Awards and Recognition

Higginbotham has received many awards for her books, articles, and research. In 1994, she got the Scholar's Medal from the University of Rochester. In 2000, she received the Women of Achievement Award from the YWCA of Boston.

In 2003, Harvard University chose her as a Walter Channing Fellow. This was to recognize her achievements in history. In 2005, she was named one of the "Top 10 Black Women in Higher Education" by AOL Black Voice.

Awards in 2008 and Beyond

Higginbotham received several awards in 2008. Unity First honored her for preserving African American History. The Urban League gave her the Legend Award. She also received the Carter G. Woodson Scholars Medallion.

In 2010, she was welcomed into the American Philosophical Society. This group promotes useful knowledge. Howard University gave her an Honorary Doctorate degree in 2011. In 2012, she received the Living Legacy award. She also won the Joan Kelly Memorial Prize in Women's History.

In May 2012, Higginbotham received the Star Family Prize. This award recognized her excellent guidance for a Harvard student. Heidelberg University gave her the James W.C. Pennington Award in 2013. This was for her work in African American Religious History. She also received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2014.

In March 2015, Diverse Magazine named her one of the "Top 25 Women in Higher Education."

National Humanities Medal

The most important award Higginbotham has received is the 2014 National Humanities Medal. President Barack Obama presented this award to her at the White House. She received it for "illuminating the African American journey." This means she helped shed light on the history and experiences of African Americans.