The Brown Sisters

Linda and Cheryl are two of the three daughters of the late Rev. Oliver L. Brown, who, along with twelve other parents led by the NAACP, filed suit against the local Board of Education on behalf of their children in the historic case, Oliver L. Brown et. al. vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, et. al. Upon appeal to the United States Supreme Court, the case became the lead among five other legal challenges; Oliver Brown died in 1961 before knowing the impact of this landmark US Supreme Court decision.

Currently Program Associate with The Brown Foundation, Linda serves as a member of the music department at one of the Methodist churches in Topeka where she has chaired several project committees. She has been a Head Start teacher and at one time taught private music lessons in piano. Cheryl has been a sixth grade teacher, university guest lecturer, school guidance counselor, state educational administrator and is currently President and CEO of The Brown Foundation. She has been a member of numerous professional and civic organizations, and presently serves on several local, state and national boards. She is past chair of Women Work, a national network that represented some 15 million women nationwide who were seeking career assistance and employment in non-traditional fields.

Cheryl established The Brown Foundation in 1988 along with her co-worker, Jerry Jones. In 1990 the Foundation worked with the United States Congress to develop legislation, resulting in the establishment of the Brown v. Board of Education National Park. The Park opened in 2004 in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Brown decision. It is located in Topeka at the site of one of the four formerly segregated African American schools. This was also the elementary school attended by their mother, two of the Brown sisters, Linda and Terry, and the school at which Cheryl began her teaching career.

The Brown Foundation shares office space with the National Park Service in a building that now contains interpretive exhibits and annually welcomes nearly 50,000 visitors from over 20 countries around the world.

The Brown sisters have extensive public speaking experience, including having lectured at more than 300 college campuses and for various national organizations and community groups. They have received numerous awards in recognition of the Brown decision and have appeared in televised and newspaper interviews nationwide about this historic case.