Linda Brown Thompson has been a Head Start teacher and at one time taught private lessons in piano. She is currently a program associate with the Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research, a non-profit organization co-founder by her sister Cheryl and a co-worker in 1988. Linda serves as director of music for a Methodist church in Topeka, where she has chaired several project committees.

Cheryl Brown Henderson has been a sixth-grade teacher, university guest lecturer, a school guidance counselor and a state educational administrator. She currently serves as executive director of the Brown Foundation. She has been honored and published extensively, and presently serves of various local, state and national boards. She was one of four persons named “Kansan of the Year” in 1994, and in 1996 became the first African American from Kansas to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Brown Foundation is a living tribute to the attorneys and plaintiffs in the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision. Since its establishment, the organization has provided scholarships to minority students; presented awards to local, state and national leaders; and sponsored programs on multicultural understanding. The foundation successfully worked with Congress to establish the Brown v. Board of Education National Park in Topeka.