Monthly Newsletter - August 2013

 

in this edition

We March On

Youth Spotlight

40th Anniversary Celebration

Twitter Chat: #ProtectChildrenNotGuns

Share Your Early Learning Story

Budget Watch

In Memoriam: Bill Lynch

We March On

Well, we've been celebrating the dream and we can celebrate the progress, but the agenda I think that Dr. King would be proposing today would be clear. He would be calling for a poor people's campaign, as he was when he was killed in Memphis. Today, we have 46.2 million poor Americans, rather than the 35 million we had then, and there are 16.1 million poor children today, rather than the 11 million when he died. He told us about the opportunity to use our wealth to close these gaps and to use our wealth to make sure that everybody had their basic necessities. We still have not heard him. He would be talking about jobs, jobs, jobs, decent wages. He would be talking about education.” – Marian Wright Edelman on CBS’ Face the Nation, August 25, 2013

This month as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington and honor Dr. King the dreamer, let us not forget Dr. King the disturber of unjust peace. We must recommit ourselves to creating Dr. King’s dream of an equal and just America for all children until it becomes a reality. Watch CDF president Marian Wright Edelman discuss the March on Washington and where we go from here with leaders from the Civil Rights Movement on Face the Nation, CBS Evening News and the Tavis Smiley Show.

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These discussions will continue on Thursday, September 12th, when journalist Soledad O'Brien will moderate a discussion between Marian Wright Edelman and Kitty Kelley, author of Let Freedom Ring: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the March on Washington. The book features never-before-seen beautiful, sometimes haunting photographs from the 1963 March on Washington and a foreword by Mrs. Edelman. The special event with live music by Garrick Jordan will take place at the National Archives and be followed by a book signing. All proceeds of the book will benefit the Children’s Defense Fund.


Youth Spotlight

Today we honor two young women who have taken up the mantel of Dr. King and are making a difference TODAY in the fight for equality. Sofia Campos, head of United We Dream, and American Indian leader Alayna Eagle Shield are building and sustaining powerful nonviolent movements to help America live up to its promises to undocumented youth and American Indians. Listen to what Sofia and Alayna were going to say on Wednesday until they were bumped as they were ready to go on stage at the "Let Freedom Ring" commemoration of the March on Washington.


40th Anniversary Celebration

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Please join us on Monday, September 30th at the Kennedy Center as we celebrate our 40th anniversary and honor former Secretary of State and Children’s Defense Fund Alumna Hillary Rodham Clinton. There will be an exciting program featuring performances by an amazing 12-year-old cellist Malik Kofi and his world-renowned mentor, cellist Udi Bar-David, tap sensations the Manzari Brothers, and the wonderful Washington Performing Arts Society Children of the Gospel Choir conducted by Stanley Thurston. And so much more! Individual tickets and sponsorship packages are now available for purchase online.


Twitter Chat: #ProtectChildrenNotGuns

Please join the Children’s Defense Fund and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America at 3 p.m. EST on Wednesday, September 3, 2013 for a live Twitter chat on how to protect children from gun violence. We will be discussing the research from our new report “Protect Children Not Guns 2013”, the latest legislative activity and what you can do to protect all our children. To participate in the chat next Wednesday, follow @ChildDefender and @MomsDemand and use the hashtag #ProtectChildrenNotGuns.


Share Your Early Learning Story

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Remember the beloved children’s book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Like many of us, you’ve probably followed Brown Bear on his journey hundreds of times and seen many of the same things he saw. Now we want members of Congress to listen to your story, as you tell them what you have seen as high-quality early learning and development opportunities have transformed the lives of your children, your classrooms, and your communities. We want to hear from parents, home visitors, Head Start teachers, child care providers, and elementary school teachers who have seen the benefits of early learning opportunities. As part of the Strong Start for Children Campaign, the Children’s Defense Fund is gathering these stories which we will deliver in a “Brown Bear, Brown Bear”-themed book to key members of Congress. The stories can come in many forms—they can be a paragraph or a page; they can be about literacy, math, social emotional, and other early learning skills. Send your stories to dhains@childrensdefense.org.


Budget Watch

When Congress returns to Capitol Hill on September 10th the budget debate will begin anew. Congress will have only nine scheduled legislative days to debate and agree on funding for fiscal year 2014 including whether or not sequestration cuts will continue and for how long. The 57,000 voiceless, voteless children who were cut from Head Start and Early Head Start due to the sequester will need us to be persistent at this urgent hour in letting our lawmakers know what is important. Contact your members of Congress and urge them to repeal sequestration, get about the real business of strengthening our economy by supporting investments in  children, and to be careful what they cut.


In Memoriam: Bill Lynch

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We are deeply saddened to report the passing of our much beloved board member and friend Bill Lynch. “He was a marathon runner in the quest for social justice and leaves behind a host of leaders—young and old—touched and molded by his guidance, caring and example,” said Marian Wright Edelman. Haley Farm's Riggio-Lynch chapel and Langston Hughes library designed by Maya Lin and made possible by the generosity of Len and Louise Riggio are just two lasting results of his midwifery. He was a champion for children and his devotion to developing the next generations of servant leaders never wavered. We are dedicating our 40th Anniversary Celebration to him. Bill is survived by his wife Mary, children, and grandchild.

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