US public education faces concerted attack by those bent on corporate control, privatization, regimented reading instruction, and high‐stakes testing. One democratic, humanistic, and research‐based alternative can be found in the theory and practice of whole language, which empowered teachers and students alike through the 1980s and 1990s – until a political backlash re‐instituted corporate control of language arts. This article proposes that a renewed whole language movement, together with other allied educational campaigns, can provide hope and promise to the fight for quality public education.