Born in Arkansas in 1920, Odessa Brown was a community organizer during the Civil Rights era, who fought to bring quality healthcare with dignity to children in the Central District. When she died of leukemia in 1969, a new children’s clinic was named in her honor. In 1994, the clinic—a satellite of Seattle Children’s Hospital—became a partner in the Central Area Health Care Center with the Carolyn Downs Family Medical Center and Seattle-King County Department of Health. The clinic closed its original Yesler Way location in 2022, with its new location at the corner of 18th Avenue South and South Jackson Street.

Located to the right of the main entrance is a sculpture entitled “My Testimony in Stone” by noted African-American artist Dr. James Washington.