Marian Wright Edelman quotes - page 2

Marian Wright Edelman is an American activist and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund. Her lifelong work focuses on advocating for the rights and welfare of children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. She continues to be a leading voice for social justice and equity in the United States. Here are 68 of her quotes:

If we think we have ours and don't owe any time or money or effort to help those left behind, then we are a part of the problem rather than the solution to the fraying social fabric that threatens all Americans. (Marian Wright Edelman)
You didn't have a choice about the parents you inherited, but you do have a choice about the kind of parent you will be. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
We are willing to spend the least amount of money to keep a kid at home, more to put him in a foster home and the most to institutionalize him. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
Far less wealthy industrialized countries have committed to end child poverty, while the United States is sliding backwards. We can do better. We must demand that our leaders do better. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
So much of the deep lingering sadness over President Kennedy's assassination is about the unfinished promise: unspoken speeches, unfulfilled hopes, the wondering about what might have been. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
If you don't like the way the world is, you change it. You have an obligation to change it. You just do it one step at a time. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
If we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
Remember and help America remember that the fellowship of human beings is more important than the fellowship of race and class and gender in a democratic society. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
People who don't vote have no line of credit with people who are elected and thus pose no threat to those who act against our interests. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
Whoever said anybody has a right to give up? View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
Don't feel entitled to anything you don't sweat and struggle for. (Marian Wright Edelman)
We looked out from the little pulpit in that little church and talked about how something so big started from a place so small. Just a lot of committed people of faith in church on one side of the street, and all the power of Alabama in the state capitol right across the street. As a young lawyer, I used to listen to Dr. King in chapel at Spelman College. One of the thngs I liked about him was that he didn't pretend to be a great powerful know-it-all. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
If things are too easy, life is a whole lot less interesting. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
A nation that does not stand for its children does not stand for anything and will not stand tall in the future. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
In every seed of good there is always a piece of bad. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
We must always refill and ensure there is a critical mass of leaders and activists committed to nonviolence and racial and economic justice who will keep seeding and building transforming movements. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
My faith has been the driving thing of my life. I think it is important that people who are perceived as liberals not be afraid of talking about moral and community values. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
I grew up in a very religious family and it is the motivating force to every thing I do. I am fortunate to have had adults all around me who really lived their faith, in helping other people and doing the best you can do. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
I try to act out of faith. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
Family and moral values are so central to everything that I am. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
I worry about the kids who have too much. As a parent living in a so-called good neighborhood with children who went to private high school, I found myself spending much time in parent groups worrying about alcohol, unsupervised parties, and parents not being parents. (Marian Wright Edelman)
We do not have a money problem in America. We have a values and priorities problem. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
In politics, there are no friends. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
Hunger and malnutrition have devastating consequences for children and have been linked to low birth weight and birth defects, obesity, mental and physical health problems, and poorer educational outcomes. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman
Together we can and must fight for justice for our children and protect them from draconian tax cuts and budget choices that threaten their survival, education and preparation for the future. If they are not ready for tomorrow, neither is America. View quote
Marian Wright Edelman

Marian Wright Edelman

Marian Wright Edelman - Image
Photo: Nancy Pelosi from San Francisco, CA, CC BY 2.0
Occupation: American Activist
Born: June 6, 1939
Quotes count: 68
Wikipedia: Marian Wright Edelman

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