In 1952 Brown retired after 50 years. She handpicked Wilhelmina M. Crosson of Boston to succeed her as Palmer's next president. Following a long illness Brown died in 1961 and was buried with great honor on the campus she loved. Palmer Memorial Institute has become a state historic site. It was the first state-supported site to honor the contributions of African Americans and women.
Ongoing programs depict the history and development of African American education in North Carolina.
They have become known around the globe as writers and singers, teachers and professors, doctors and lawyers, actors and actresses, scientists and mathematicians, and government officials. The second president of PMI, ca. Born in Warrenton, she moved with her parents to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1906, where she became an excellent student and was a star player on her school's basketball team. From an early age, Crosson dreamed of becoming a teacher. She began her teaching career in 1920 and began Boston's first remedial reading program.