Child Watch® Column

CDF founder and lifelong advocate for children and youth Marian Wright Edelman shares her perspective on current events.

Latest Articles

  • Education

    Championing the Freedom to Read

    Banned Books Week, which is typically observed the last week of September and this year is September 22-28, brings together the entire book community – including librarians, educators, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers of all ages – to support the freedom to read.…

  • Gun Violence

    Rejecting Hate

    Eleven-year-old Aiden Clark was killed in a traffic accident in August 2023 in Springfield, Ohio, when the school bus he was riding in on the first day of school was hit by a minivan. The van’s driver was a Haitian immigrant, and Aiden’s death has become part of a larger hate- and conspiracy-filled campaign targeting his community’s immigrant residents.…

  • Lessons After September 11

    As the nation and world commemorate the anniversary of September 11 this week, I remember again that it was a gloriously beautiful morning in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 11, 2001. …

  • Gun Violence

    A Back to School Prayer

    This year, the first week of September was disrupted by a terrible tragedy that has become its own all-too-familiar routine in our nation: headlines about another school shooting.…

Marian Wright Edelman

Marian Wright Edelman

Marian Wright Edelman is a lifelong advocate for disadvantaged Americans and is the Founder and President Emerita of Children’s Defense Fund (CDF). Under her leadership, CDF has become the nation’s strongest voice for children, youth, and families.

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