Jeree Palmer-Bechkham, class of 1983
Jeree Palmer-Bechkam grew up in Harlem, New York, where she met her first husband, novelist Barry Beckham. Together, they moved to Providence where she earned her A.B. in theatre arts through Brown's Resumed Education Program (RUE). While at Brown, Palmer produced a show that inspired “Shades of Harlem,” her first successful off-Broadway production. She continued a professional singing, acting and production career, opening for Jerry Lewis and Bill Cosby, while obtaining her Master's degree in counseling psychology from Goddard College in 1995.
In this interview, Jeree Palmer-Beckham begins by discussing her time in Providence, where she lived with her first husband, and explaining her completion of a Brown University degree in theatre arts through the Resumed Education Program (RUE). Palmer explains how attending Brown impacted her life in theatre, particularly the production “Shades of Brown,” which led her back to the New York theatre scene. She discusses various productions she has worked on in New York.
Then Palmer elucidates her career before Brown, when she had various television parts and saw the world as a part of a traveling folk group. She moves on to discuss her second husband, her work with Prep for Prep - an education program for students of color, and ends by commenting on the racial political climate in New York.
New York, New York