Marian Wright Edelman Quotes

Powerful Marian Wright Edelman for Daily Growth

About Marian Wright Edelman

Marian Wright Edelman (born June 6, 1939) is an influential American civil rights activist, attorney, and public policy advocate best known for her lifelong commitment to children's rights and health, particularly among disadvantaged communities. Born in Bennettsville, South Carolina, Edelman was the first of four children to parents who instilled in her the values of empathy, service, and social justice. After graduating from Spelman College in 1960, she pursued law at Yale Law School, becoming one of its few black students during that time. Upon graduation, Edelman dedicated herself to civil rights work. She moved to Mississippi to join the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund and later co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project, where she registered voters during a pivotal period in the American Civil Rights Movement. In 1973, Edelman founded the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), a nonprofit advocacy organization that focuses on the needs of America's children and families, particularly those who are disadvantaged or marginalized. Under her leadership, CDF has championed numerous groundbreaking initiatives aimed at ensuring child well-being, including healthcare reform, educational equity, and family economic security. Edelman's work has earned her numerous accolades and recognitions. She was the first black woman to deliver the annual commencement address at Yale University and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Clinton in 1993. Her most famous quote, "You are Special Enough to Be Whatever You Want to Be," encapsulates her belief that every child deserves opportunities for growth and success regardless of their background. Still active today at age 82, Edelman continues to fight tirelessly for children's rights and remains a beacon of hope and inspiration for those working towards social justice and equity in America.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the possible."

This quote by Marian Wright Edelman emphasizes the profound impact that our dreams and the indomitable human spirit can have on our lives and the world. It suggests that each individual possesses immense potential, and that this potential can be actualized through the power of our dreams and aspirations. The human spirit's influence refers to its capacity for resilience, determination, and transformation, enabling us to overcome obstacles and achieve great things. Ultimately, the quote reminds us that every person has the ability to make a positive difference in their own lives and the world around them, if they dare to dream and strive towards those dreams with unwavering spirit.

"You can't solve any child's problem with silence, indifference, or without giving time, love, or concern."

This quote emphasizes the crucial role active empathy plays in addressing a child's problems. It suggests that simply ignoring, remaining apathetic, or being detached from their issues does not provide solutions. Instead, it advocates for engagement, offering time, love, and concern – actions that demonstrate genuine care and commitment to helping them overcome their challenges.

"Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time."

The quote emphasizes that service, or helping others, is a fundamental purpose of human existence, rather than an optional activity. Marian Wright Edelman suggests that just as one pays rent for occupying a house, we should strive to give back to society by providing service in our daily lives. This perspective underscores the importance of empathy, compassion, and altruism in living a fulfilling life.

"The time is always right to do what is right."

The quote by Marian Wright Edelman signifies that there is no perfect moment or ideal circumstance for doing what is morally just. It emphasizes the importance of acting ethically, regardless of external factors such as timing or situation, because it's not only essential for personal integrity but also contributes to societal progress. It encourages individuals to stand up for righteousness and embody a commitment to justice at all times.

"Our children are our greatest national resource, but they will become our most costly liability if not properly educated today."

This quote highlights the crucial importance of investing in education for children. It suggests that they represent a valuable asset to any nation due to their potential for growth, innovation, and progress. However, if they are not adequately educated, they may become a financial burden on society in terms of increased social services, crime, and economic instability. The message encourages us to prioritize education as an essential investment in our future.

Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Purpose, Very, Spare Time, Rent

It was very clear to me in 1965, in Mississippi, that, as a lawyer, I could get people into schools, desegregate the schools, but if they were kicked off the plantations - and if they didn't have food, didn't have jobs, didn't have health care, didn't have the means to exercise those civil rights, we were not going to have success.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Exercise, Get, Very, Kicked

You just need to be a flea against injustice. Enough committed fleas biting strategically can make even the biggest dog uncomfortable and transform even the biggest nation.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Injustice, Need, Committed, Flea

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.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Been, Poorer, Educational, Devastating

If we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Children, Up, Then, Stand Up

A lot of people are waiting for Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi to come back - but they are gone. We are it. It is up to us. It is up to you.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Waiting, King, Martin Luther, Luther

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.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Deep, Over, Been, President

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.

- Marian Wright Edelman

United States, Sliding, Industrialized

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.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Change, Way, Like, Just Do It

I feel very lucky to have grown up having interaction with adults who were making change but who were far from perfect beings. That feeling of not being paralyzed by your incredible inadequacy as a human being, which I feel every day, is a part of the legacy that I've gotten from so many of the adult elders.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Legacy, Lucky, Very, Elders

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.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Education, Preparation, Our, Budget

When President Kennedy was elected, many black Americans, like so many Americans, were captivated by his youth and energy and promise and were especially hopeful that he might move the country in a new direction on civil rights.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Country, Promise, Hopeful, President Kennedy

Our true remembrance to President Kennedy is in our actions to honor the unspoken words and finish the unfinished work today and tomorrow and for as long as it takes.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Work, Honor, Remembrance, President Kennedy

We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Small, Over, Which, Foresee

To all those mothers and fathers who are struggling with teen-agers, I say, just be patient: even though it looks like you can't do anything right for a number of years, parents become popular again when kids reach 20.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Teen, Reach, Fathers, Be Patient

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

Behind, Part, All Americans, Threatens

In politics, there are no friends.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Politics, Friends, No Friends

I hadn't planned on going to law school. I wanted to study 19th-century Russian literature.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Law, Study, Literature, Law School

There should not be one new dime in tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires as long as millions of children in America are poor, hungry, uneducated and without health coverage.

- Marian Wright Edelman

New, Coverage, Billionaires, Tax Breaks

Don't feel entitled to anything you didn't sweat and struggle for.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Sweat, Feel, Entitled, Struggle

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.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Always, Nonviolence, Ensure, Economic

It was clear to me as a civil rights leader in the '60s that unless we put the social and economic underpinnings beneath the political and the civil rights, we wouldn't go anywhere.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Leader, Beneath, Social, Economic

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

Parent, Private, About, Neighborhood

I've always hated being hemmed in or seeing anybody being hemmed in. Even when I was the smallest child, I couldn't bear being told I couldn't drink at a so-called white drinking fountain.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Fountain, Always, Drinking, So-Called

Unless children have strong education and strong families and strong communities and decent housing, it's not enough to go sit in at a lunch counter.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Education, Strong, Lunch, Communities

Semi-automatic weapons have no socially redeeming purpose.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Purpose, Socially, Redeeming, Weapons

The challenge of social justice is to evoke a sense of community that we need to make our nation a better place, just as we make it a safer place.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Need, Better Place, Social, Social Justice

Children under five are the poorest age group in America, and one in four infants, toddlers and preschoolers are poor during the years of greatest brain development.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Development, Toddlers, Poorest

I'm sure I am impatient sometimes. I sure do get angry sometimes. I think it's outrageous how hard it is to get this country to feed its children and to take care of its children, to give them a decent education.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Education, Country, I Think, Outrageous

You really can change the world if you care enough.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Change, World, Enough, Change The World

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.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Gender, Race, More, Democratic Society

The key is that your children are aware that you love them a lot, and that you are there when they really, really need you. If a kid was ill, I would simply leave a meeting and go home.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Love, Need, Go Home, Key

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.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Parent, Kind, Will, Inherited

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.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Pose, Line, Thus, Vote

A nation that does not stand for its children does not stand for anything and will not stand tall in the future.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Children, Will, Nation, Tall

Learn to be quiet enough to hear the genuine within yourself so that you can hear it in others.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Yourself, Learn, Within, Hear

Parents have become so convinced that educators know what is best for their children that they forget that they themselves are really the experts.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Best, Forget, Really, Experts

Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Education, Improving, Better, Leaving

Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree.

- Marian Wright Edelman

College, Graduation, Will, Further

We have the capacity to make sure that every mother has pre-natal care. Yet, we don't do it. What is it about America? It says we don't value children and families. We are hypocrites.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Capacity, Sure, About, Families

No one, Eleanor Roosevelt said, can make you feel inferior without your consent. Never give it.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Give, Feel, Inferior, Roosevelt

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.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Other, Religious, Very, Adult

The Declaration of Independence was always our vision of who we wanted to be, our ideal of freedom and justice, how we were going to be different, and what the American experiment was going to be about.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Independence, Always, Ideal, Declaration

If things are too easy, life is a whole lot less interesting.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Life Is A, Lot, Too, Easy

It never occurred to me that I was not going to challenge segregation.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Never, Going, Occurred, Segregation

I never thought I was breaking a glass ceiling. I just had to do what I had to do, and it never occurred to me not to.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Thought, Never, Glass, Ceiling

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.

- Marian Wright Edelman

My Life, Think, Been, Driving

No person has the right to rain on your dreams.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Dreams, Rain, Person, Your Dreams

Family and moral values are so central to everything that I am.

- Marian Wright Edelman

I Am, Values, Central, Moral Values

I need to work outside government, on my own.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Government, Need, My Own, Outside

I'm tough in the sense that I believe as strongly in what I'm doing as anybody else believes in what they are doing.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Doing, Sense, Anybody, Anybody Else

We do not have a money problem in America. We have a values and priorities problem.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Money, Values, Problem, Priorities

Education is a precondition to survival in America today.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Education, Today, America, Survival

You're not obligated to win. You're obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Trying, Every Day, Keep, Obligated

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.

- Marian Wright Edelman

More, Willing, Amount, Foster

The future which we hold in trust for our own children will be shaped by our fairness to other people's children.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Trust, Fairness, Which, Children

Whoever said anybody has a right to give up?

- Marian Wright Edelman

Give, Right, Anybody, Whoever

In every seed of good there is always a piece of bad.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Seed, Bad, Always, Piece

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

- Marian Wright Edelman

Work, Soul, Night, Save

Service is what life is all about.

- Marian Wright Edelman

Life, About, Service

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