July 17, 1909
Wright told the conference of educators, “Our teachers are a powerful force in developing character and bettering social conditions, but the relation between the teacher and the home of the child must somehow be made closer. The teacher must work not only with the pupil, but with the parent. A great responsibility rests upon the teachers. It is taken for granted that they see the need of organization, and that they understand the task that is set before them, and that they know that in this age of electricity and combination individual effort must be strengthened and made most effective by co-operation with others working in the same sphere.”
Richard Robert Wright’s son, R. R. Wright Jr., earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, as did Ruth Wright Hayre, the daughter of R. R. Wright Jr. Ruth Wright Hayre was the first African-American high school principal in Philadelphia, and she improved the educational opportunities for black students in the city. She titled her autobiography Tell Them We Are Rising, in a nod to her grandfather.