Louise Daniel Hutchinson was born in Ridge, Maryland to Victor Daniel and Constance Eleanor (nee Hazel),, but was raised in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Her parents were both educators, leading the Cardinal Gibbons Institute, a Black Catholic school built on the model of Tuskegee. Her mother was an acquaintance of William Henry Hastie, Mary McLeod Bethune and Carter G. Woodson. Both parents were also active in local African American affairs, including civil rights activities. As a young person, Louise attended the Brown v. Board of Education court proceedings in Kansas.
