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As leader and principal spokesperson for the CDF, Edelman worked to persuade Congress to overhaul foster care, support adoption, improve child care and protect children who are disabled, homeless, abused or neglected.
Marian Wright Edelman, a graduate of Spelman College and Yale Law School, began her career in the mid 1960s. As the first Black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar, she directed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, Mississippi.
- June 6, 1939 (age 85)
- B.A., Spelman CollegeJ.D., Yale Law School
- Activist for children's rights
- SC
Interview with Marian Wright Edelman At long last a well-organized, completely staffed project has been initiated for the explicit purpose of addressing the basic rights of children. This project, the Children's Defense Fund of the Washing-ton Research Project, was launched May 24, 1973. The organization
Marian Wright Edelman, American lawyer and civil rights activist who founded (1973) the Children’s Defense Fund, which advocated for children’s rights. She also created a similar organization, Stand for Children, in 1996. Learn more about Edelman’s life and career.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Oct 1, 2017 · Marian Wright Edelman, the leading advocate for children ’ s rights in the United States and the founder of the Children ’ s Defense Fund, can trace her commitment to serve others directly back to her own child-hood in the southern United States.
Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president emerita of the Children’s Defense Fund, has advocated for disadvantaged Americans for her entire professional life. Under her leadership, the CDF has become the nation’s strongest voice for children and families, ensuring successful passage to adulthood with help from both families and communities.
Women in History--Marian Wright Edelman: Crusader for Civil and Children's Rights. This article profiles Marian Wright Edelman, a crusader for civil and children's rights. She was born June 6, 1939, at a time when prejudice and segregation were the norm.
