Harold Siegel to John F. Kennedy, 28 June 1962

ackd 7-12- mac 62 U NITED P ARENTS A THE WHITE HOUSE SSOCIATIONS of New York City, Inc. 44 West 28th Street New York 1, N.Y. MUrray Hill 29,12 41 PM '62 6/29 RECEIVED OFFICERS June 28, 1962 President Adele B. Tunick Vice Presidents Mary H. Adasko The President, The White House Selma S. Covitz Washington 25, D. C. Florence Flast Robert Konove Eli Rosenblatt Dear Mr. President: Ruth Seidler Treasurer On behalf of this organization, which has David H. Gerduk 400,000 members and 425 parent and parent-teacher Secretary associations in New York City, I want to express our Charlotte K. Frankenthaler gratitude and thanks to you for your magnificent re- Membership Secretary sponse to the question presented to you dealing with Lydia Sandler the Supreme Court's school prayer decision. Consultant Rose Shapiro Your answer showed your usual deep under- standing of our history, our constitutional principles, Counsel David I. Ashe and the meaning of the Bill of Rights, particularly as it relates to the freedom of religion. Executive Director Harold Siegel Hopefully your leadership will still the Assistant Director Marion P. White hysteria. PANEL OF ADVISERS Harvey K. Allen The New York City schools have not used the Lillian H. Ashe Regents' prayer largely because of the intense public Florence S. Beaumont Edward J. Bernath reaction against its introduction. There was an in- LeRoy Bowman stinctive reaction in New York City by many groups and William Bristow people that the "remedy" you proposed was most mean- Regina C. M. Burke Irene Cypher ingful for children and for the inculcation of religious Dan Dodson belief in them. The divisiveness inherent in the Ruth Farbman Winifred Fisher adoption of an official prayer was avoided. We are Edmund J. Gannon sure that our children exhibit the moral/and spiritual Jacob Greenberg Julius Greenwald values of our various religions and of our culture at Jean Shick Grossman least as well as the children in the school systems Gladys Harburger Ethel F. Huggard that use the prayer. William Jansen Alice Keliher William H. Kilpatrick Again our many thanks. Frances H. Kohan Elias Lieberman Joseph O. Loretan Sincerely yours, Mark A. McCloskey David H. Moskowitz Joseph Noethen Samuel Orr Irene Pascal Karold Siegel C. Frederick Pertsch Melissa Russell HS :mv Executive Director Juan Sanchez Fred Schoenberg Mrs. Robert E. Simon Esther Speyer Mark Starr Francis Turner Louis E. Yavner George Zuckerman 182