Hopkins, Charlotte Everett

Civic leader, philanthropist, and social reformer. Full name: Charlotte Everett Wise Hopkins; also, Mrs. Archibald Hopkins. Born 1851; died 1935.

Biographical Note and Organizational History

Charlotte Everett Hopkins

Charlotte Everett Hopkins was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on June 7, 1851. She married Archibald Hopkins of Williamstown, Massachusetts on November 14, 1878. A civic leader, philanthropist, and social reformer in the District of Columbia, Hopkins was a prominent crusader for the betterment of the working and living conditions of the District's poor and working class citizens. Hopkins was chairman of the Woman's Department of the National Civic Federation, District of Columbia Section; president of the Home for Incurables, Washington, D.C.; board member of the United States Hospital for the Insane, Washington, D.C.; chairman of the D.C. Housing Commission, Washington, D.C.; and a trustee of the Society for the Preservation of Places of Historic Interest and Natural Beauty, Washington, D.C. Hopkins fought to eradicate alley slums in the District of Columbia. She is credited with educating First Lady Ellen Axson Wilson on this issue, resulting in Wilson's support of the Ellen Wilson Memorial Homes. She was also instrumental in the formation of the Washington Committee on Housing (later the Washington Planning and Housing Association) and the passage of the Alley Dwelling Elimination Act in 1934. She published with Elizabeth Christophers Hobson, A Report Concerning the Colored Women of the South, Baltimore: Trustees, 1896. In 1914, Harper's Weekly published her article, "The Washington Alley Bill."

National Civic Federation

The National Civic Federation, founded in 1900, was an organization of business and labor leaders that sought progressive reform by mediating disputes between industry and organized labor. The District of Columbia Section's activities included improving the welfare and working conditions of District residents, improving jail conditions, supporting public schools and libraries, and preventing communicable diseases. After the outbreak of World War I, the Woman's Department focused on aiding the war effort through clothing, surgical dressing, and materials drives as well as providing support services for returning servicemen. The organization worked in cooperation with the American Red Cross, National Patriotic Relief, and the Woman's Committee of the Council of National Defense (Washington, D.C.).