National PTA President's Letter
April, 2004

Commemorating Brown v. Board of Education, Fulfilling Promises to Our Nation’s Children

National PTA President Linda Hodge and Chief Executive Officer Warlene Gary have coauthored this month’s leadership message to affirm the organization’s commitment to carrying out the promise made by Brown v. Board of Education.

In 1954, the nation was forever transformed when thirteen courageous families in Topeka, Kansas, including the parents of Linda Brown, took a stand because they knew that black children deserved the same educational opportunities as white children. The landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education, affected children in all 21 states that had segregated classrooms, and it affected an entire generation and generations to follow.

The 50th anniversary of this historic Supreme Court decision, May 17, provides an occasion for PTAs and communities to celebrate the strides that have been made to provide all children with an equal, high-quality education, while also taking account of the work still to be done. Today, the “achievement gap”—disparities in academic achievement between white and Asian students and their black and Hispanic peers—continues to be one of the most pressing problems in education.

To fulfill the promise of Brown v. Board of Education, the nation must do a better job in ensuring that minority and disadvantaged students are given excellent educational opportunities. PTAs, too, must increase their efforts to provide a high-quality education for all children. PTAs can be the catalyst to help parents, teachers, students, and community members from every socioeconomic and cultural background become involved to ensure the success of all children. Our nation and our 26,000 PTAs have the resources and expertise; we just need to make full use of them. We cannot settle for anything less.

  Linda Hodge
  President, National PTA

  Warlene Gary
  Warlene Gary
  CEO, National PTA