02/04/2021
A name you should know: Selena Sloan Butler
Mrs. Selena Sloan Butler is most well-known for co-founding the National Parent Teacher Association, though she was not always recognized for this achievement.
Mrs. Butler was born to a white father and mixed African American and Indian mother in Georgia in 1872. Mrs. Butler's father was absent from her childhood. When she graduated high school she became a teacher. She married Dr. Henry Rutherford Butler, a prominent Black doctor in Atlanta and had one son.
When their son started school Mrs. Butler sought ways to help parents take a proactive approach to their child’s education. In 1911 she founded the National Congress of Color Parents and Teachers Association (NCCPTA) at her son's school, creating the first parent-teacher group for Black parents in the U.S. Mrs. Butler worked hard to grow awareness of the group and wrote letters to spread the word about the importance of parents taking an active role in their child's education. New chapters of the NCCPTA opened up at more and more schools, bringing the organization state-wide. By 1926 the group had gained enough widespread attention to create a national convention. Four states sent delegates and the group officially spread nation-wide.
In 1929, Mrs. Butler and the NCCPT caught the attention of the White House. Mrs. Butler was was appointed by President Hoover to serve on the White House Conference on Child Health and Protection representing the NCCPT. Mrs. Butler remained the President of the NCCPT for more than 30 years.
Outside of her work with in education she was an active community organizer and activist with almost too many credits to list: she was a delegate to the founding convention of the National Association of Colored Women, the first president of the Georgia Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, served as a member of the the Georgia Commission on In*******al Cooperation, the Chataugua Circle of Atlanta and the Order of the Eastern Star. She also organized the first chapter of the Gray Ladies, a group of American Red Cross volunteers who worked in American hospitals, other health-care facilities, and private homes.
Mrs. Butler passed at the age of 92 in 1964. In 1970 she was post-humorously recognized as the co-founder of the National Parent-Teacher Association after the NCCPT merged with the National Parent-Teacher Association.
To find more information about Mrs. Butler, you can visit the following links:
Georgia Women of Achievement: https://www.georgiawomen.org/selena-sloan-butler
African American Registry: https://aaregistry.org/story/one-of-georgias-finest-selena-sloan-butler/
Image credit to African American Registry.
