Monthly Newsletter - August 2013
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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.
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
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
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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