[1][2] Beginning her academic career, Parker taught at public schools in Florida after obtaining her undergraduate degree at Fisk University.

Following her work on the Dayton project, she pursued an academic career, taking on the role of assistant professor in physics at Fisk University.

[1]Carolyn Parker's maternal first cousin Joan Murrell Owens, a marine biologist, was one of the first African-American women to receive a PhD in geology.

[9] Parker was inspired to pursue physics at Fisk University where she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1938.

[1][11] While on course to obtaining a Phd at MIT, Parker developed multiple sclerosis and leukemia, potentially from exposure to radiation while working on the Dayton Project.

[13][14] For more than 50 years, the name, professional journey and accomplishments of Carolyn Beatrice Parker remained shelved away from public discussion.

In 2020, during the international Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, and the shooting of Breonna Taylor, an elementary school and neighboring park in Gainesville that had been named after Confederate brigadier general Jesse Johnson Finley were renamed to Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary School and Park in her honor.

[16] The Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, located in Batavia, Illinois established the Carolyn B. Parker Fellowship for the Superconducting Quantum Materials and System Center.