“We are willing to spend the least amount of money to keep a kid at home, more to put him in a foster home and the most to institutionalize him.”.
-Marian Wright Edelman
Today we honor Mrs. Marian Wright Edelman (Born June 6, 1939), the first African American woman to practice law in Mississippi and the President and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund. Mrs. Edelman has lived her life committed to public service and child advocacy. As a child, her parents, particularly her father, instilled in her the importance of attaining an education and giving back to the community. Her love for civil rights led her to Yale Law School where she attained her law degree in 1963.
Upon receiving her degree she immediately began her work in public interest law for the NAACP Legal and Defense fund first in New York and then in Mississippi. Her work in Mississippi earned her the distinct honor of being the first African American women to practice law in the state.
She would later move to Washington, D.C where she continued to fight for the rights or minorities and serve the underserved. This passion and value for serving the underserved led her to the arena of child advocacy. She believed children needed the voice of adults to ensure their better interests are abided and protected and she knew, unfortunately, this was too often not the case. In 1973, she established the Children’s Defense Fund to advocate for and serve poor, minority, and handicapped children. Through the Children’s Defense Fund she continues to be the voice for children, publicly speaking and legislating for various initiatives that would provide better opportunities to all children especially those who need it the most.
We salute Mrs. Edelman for her foresight and dedication to the children of today and tomorrow, our hope for the future.
For more information about Marian Wright Edelman click on the links below.
<3 Jade
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