Children: Our Future

One in six kids live in poverty in the U.S. How can we let this happen if they are supposed to be the next leaders?

Tonight I heard Dr. Marian Wright Edelman speak at Clowes Memorial Hall. Her focus "The State of America's Children" pointed out the flaws in healthcare, education and parenting. 

Edelman created the Children's Defense Fund, which works to promote public policy that creates a level playing field for all children. She worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. to help create the organization and was the first African American admitted to the Mississippi bar.

The advocate, lawyer, reformer and educator stressed the need to take strides forward with Civil Rights:

"The new president wants to the right thing, but he has so much on his plate. He needs a citizen's movement. This election mattered, but we need to renew our founding principles and Judeo-Christian traditions that every child's life is of value."

I don't claim to be an expert on public policy, but Edelman is an example to the rest of us. She is a leader and inspiration for change. In a country where "recession" has become our middle name, I pray that others may see that its only by investing in children, that we can alter our future. 

As I interviewed Edelman backstage for the campus newspaper, a staff member approached us and said to me, "You do know you're talking to a legend, don't you?"

Finally, here's one great quote from a long list of wise words from Edelman:

"Never work just for money or for power. They won't save your soul or help you sleep at night."

In my search for my calling in life, I will be sure to take comfort in that.