Tougaloo Hosts Black Female Pioneer
by Jamiel Wiggins
On Wednesday, January 25th, Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), visited the home of Tougaloo College president, Beverly W. Hogan for an informal gathering with President Hogan, students and other guests.
Edelman was the first African American female admitted to the Mississippi Bar, and has since been the recipient of over one hundred honorary degrees and many awards, including the Robert F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award. Edelman also served as counsel for the Poor People’s Campaign that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began organizing before his death, and is credited as one of the many African Americans who helped bring the dream of civil rights into fruition. Her unquenchable thirst for justice and willingness to promote change solidifies her as a true pioneer in every sense of the word.
A graduate of Spelman College and Yale Law School, Edelman began her career in the mid 1960s as an attorney, and later established the CDF in 1973, as a voice for poor, minority and handicapped children. The mission of the CDF is to leave no child behind and to ensure that every child has a healthy start and a fair chance in life on the a successful pathway to adulthood.
Edelman’s CDF is a sponsor of the Freedom Schools, which started during the Freedom Summer of 1964; the first of which was established at Tougaloo College. Freedom Schools serve to promote cultural and historical awareness and are located throughout the nation. Freedom Schools normally operate as summer programs, but now are also serving as after school programs for children who survived Hurricane Katrina.
National director Jeanne Middleton-Hairston said, “Freedom Schools aim to teach our children to read while exposing them to their African American heritage. Mrs. Edelman’s visit is very important because if it were not for her, none of this would probably exist.”
Patrick Bass, senior health and recreation major, from the Gulf Coast serves as a mentor for the program. He agreed with Hairston. He said he enjoyed having the privilege of working with the program. “I see it as an opportunity to help underprivileged children,” Bass said. Prior to visiting Tougaloo, Edelman visited the Gulf Coast to view the aftermath of Katrina.
