Edelman tells students to be voices for the voiceless i
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
The woman who founded and heads
the loremost children's advocacy group in
the nation told hundreds of Wake Forest
University graduates Sunday that as they
prepare themselves to make their marks
in their chosen careers, they should speak
Out, stand up and do something.
"We must assign ourselves to make
America its best self," Marian Wright
Edelman said. "Democracy is not a spec
tator sport."
? Edelman is the founder and president
of the Children's Defense Fund, a Wash
ington-based organization that advocates
for the betterment of the nation's children.
She delivered the university's baccalaure
ate address, one day before Sen. John
McCain delivered the main commence
ment address.
Edelman took the nation's leaders and
elite to task for putting the well-being of
children on the bottom of the totem pole.
She criticized the Bush administration for
pushing a major tax cut for the nation's
richest tier, while millions of children are
without health care and millions of moth
ers are without child care.
"It is time to put child welfare ahead
of corporate welfare." she said.
Edelman came armed with the latest
statistics showing the state of America's
children. Every II seconds a child is
abused or neglected, she told the crowd,
and 90 percent of the children without
health coverage come from working fam
ilies.
' Violence, Edelman said, continues to
be one of the biggest dangers to young
people in this country. A child is killed by
gunfire in America every two hours and
40 minutes.
! "It is safer to be a law enforcement
officer than a child under 10 in America,"
she said.
Edelman life's work has been fighting
for the voiceless and disadvantaged. A
graduate of Spelman College and Yale
Law School, Edelman was the first
African-American woman admitted to
the Mississippi Bar. In the late '60s, she
headed the NAACP Legal Defense and
Educational Fund office in Jackson, Miss.
Edelman relocated to Washington in 1968
to work with the Poor People's March,
which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was
organizing at the time of his assassination.
Edelman has also headed the Center
for Law and Education at Harvard Uni
versity. She started the Children's
Defense Fund in 1973. An acclaimed
writer, Edelman has put her concerns
about the nation's children into several
books, including "Families in Peril: An
Agenda for Social Change" and "Mea
sure of Our Success: A Letter to My Chil
dren."
Edelman told the students that Sept.
11 should have taught the nation to put
more value into things such as child wel
fare. But pleas for more federal money for
child-care programs continue to fall on
deaf ears, she said. The Children's
Defense Fund is pushing in Congress a
$20 billion increase in child-care funds.
Edelman said she has already heard from
several politicians that the nation cannot
afford such an increase. She called that
notion "nonsense."
"We don't have a money problem."
she said. "We have a values and a priori
ties problem."
Edelmen urged the crowd to get
involved in the future of young people by
contacting their local representatives and
demanding that more be done in the areas
of child care and child safety.
Aside from Edelman's g
? ? - ? '
Photiixourtcsy of Wake Forest University^
Marian Wright Cdelman is hooded before receiving her honorary degree from Wake Forest University.
remarks, the bulk of the baccalaureate
service was themed around the universi
ty's strong religious roots. Scriptural read
ings, hymns and prayers made up the bulk
of the program. Edelman said that stand
ing up for children is a godly act and
something that those who proclaim to be
"people of faith" have an obligation to do.
"Justice is our goal, not just charity,"
she said. "Jesus was about justice and not
just about service."
Edelmen, who received an honorary
degree during the service, said that stand
ing up for justice and speaking up for
what is right may not always be the best
ways to gain new friends or gain popular
ity. She urged the students to speak their.,
minds and ignore the consequences.
"Do what you think is right and just," \
she said. "And leave the result to history j
and God." >
I
, j
EAC
from page AI
new, broader focus on Hispan
ic and Asian businesses. Many
?fJAC members cried foul, say
ing that Anderson made the
decision to change the council
?without the input of EAC
members. Several members of
the EAC resigned from the
?chamber
i n
protest.
Earli
er this
year,
Ander
son had a
change
of heart
about the
decision Anderson
and tried
to build bridges with disenfran
chised council members. Her
efforts to reach out to black
chamber members came at the
same that a local Black Cham
ber of Commerce was taking
root.
For the past several
months, Anderson has been
holding regular meetings with
the new HAC steering commit
tee.
"We have decided that we
can address the needs of the
Hispanic community in other
ways," Anderson said.
Belton-Brown said HAC's
.new focus will allow black
"businesses to build stronger
' relationships with the commu
nity! Recently, the EAC bought
seven laptops for the Winston
Salem State University School
of Business, and last Thursday,
the council presented Winston
Salem Delta Fine Arts Inc. with
$2,000. The money will be
used to help Delta Arts pur
chase a new building - the for
mer ABC liquor store on New
Walkertown Road.
Delta Fine Arts is in the
midst of a more than $1 million
capital campaign. If Delta Fine
Arts raises the money, it would
cover the cost of purchasing
the building and renovating it,
said Elsie C. Blackman. presi
dent of the Delta Fine Arts
board.
"(The new building) will
help to promote arts and cul
ture in East Winston," Black
man said. "We are hoping to
reach out to surrounding com
munities, including the Latino
community.
The proposed new site is
sandwiched between two low
income housing communities,
one of which has a high His-'
panic population.
The EAC will continue to
have its yearly golf tourna
ment, set for early September
this year. In the past, proceeds
from the charity tournament
have been used to fund a schol
arship program for business
students at WSSU. Anderson
said this year a push will be
made to involve businesspeo
ple of all races in the golf tour
nament.
Belton-Brown is confident
that the EAC will be stronger
than ever now. She hopes to
win back the members who left
the chamber in disgust earlier
this year and draw in new busi
nesses as well. The chamber
has assigned a staff person to
assist the EAC with its new
mission. A lack of support from
chamber personnel was one of
the' complaints from EAC
members at the time that the
council was scheduled to be
replaced.
Louise E. Harris
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102 West Third Street. Ste. 485 Call 24 Hours
Winston-Salem. NC (336) 761-0222 |
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