Born in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of a bricklayer and a laundress, Rose Butler Browne moved with her family to Newport, Rhode Island where she graduated from Rogers High School. While working as a live-in domestic, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Rhode Island College (now the University of Rhode Island) and then a master's degree from Rhode Island College.
Rose next attended Harvard University where, in 1939, she became the first African American woman to earn a doctoral degree in education. She then moved to Virginia for a teaching position and over the course of her career served on the faculties at Virginia State College, West Virginia State College, Bluefield State College in West Virginia, and North Carolina College. She refused to send students for teaching jobs in West Virginia because the state’s Board of Education was paying African American teachers less than white teachers. The publicity from her actions and subsequent shortage of teachers led to a change in the policy. After retiring in 1963, she worked with children and senior citizens, eventually returning to Rhode Island. The University of Rhode Island named a residence hall and a peer mentoring program for women of color in Rose Butler Browne’s honor.
Biography provided by Keith Stokes, Rhode Island Black Heritage Society
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