European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 25, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine a voice for America s children by Joan Mower associated press a preacher s daughter Marian Wrighi Edelma vividly recalls the injustice she left and saw growing up poor and Black in the segregated South. But she also remembers the values her parents pushed working hard gelling an education helping others. To this Day 6he is following their Lead. As president o the children s defense fund Edelman is a voice far the nation s children particularly the 13 million who Are poverty stricken. Frequently i Henaro Black and live in households headed by women. There Are certain things that Are critically important to women and children and we ought to be out Here pushing Lor those regardless of the political atmosphere Edelman says. Started in 1973, the children s organization has grown into a s4 million National operation with 60 slate members. There Are offices in Mississippi and Ohio and slate projects in Minnesota and Texas. Our goal is to educate the nation about the needs of children and encourage preventive investment in them before they gel  drop out of school or get into trouble says an Oti Iclal of the fund its concerns include nutrition and health care for children and pregnant women prevention of teen age pregnancy child care child abuse and education to maintain its objectivity. The organization refuses even a Penny of government Money gelling it instead from foundations corporate Grants and individual donations. What we do today Tor ids is going to determine who is going to pay our social Security in 20 years Edelman said Edelman. 46, is a thin woman with a big smile who talks quickly using the Hind of verbal imagery her preacher father might have used in his Black Baptist Church in Bennettsville s.c., a town of 9.000 in the heart of the state s tobacco growing country. The youngest of five children Edelman s family was poor but no As poor As Many Blacks eking out an existence in the Days of the depression and Jim  she described her childhood is Happy she is still appalled that Black children in her town had no swimming Pool so they played in a watering Hole polluted with sewage. Among her More pleasant memories however is knowing that her family did i just talk about helping others. Debnan s lathers arted Ihei Lisl Home for the aged Black or White in Bennelli Volle and her Mother cared Lor Foster children. She s always been committed says Edelman s older sister Olive Covington. She fell she never had a Choice. Her Liberat values her View Hal government has a responsibility to care for those who Are poor and disenfranchised and her Strong religious belief relied her heritage and her Active involve men in Iho 1960s civil rights struggle. Under her leadership the Lund has branched out into Many areas. Us Legal staff initiates suits on Behal of children its research staff chums Oul books complies statistics and provides technical help to state and local groups and its lobbyists fight Lor children s programs on Capitol Hill. Researcher Paul Smith says much of the stall s time is devoted to combating Leen age pregnancy particularly among Black girls. Over the years the defense fund has scored some impressive victories especially in the Legal Field. Roughly 15 lawsuits Are on the books Al any one Lime. Because of those Sultan Louisiana no longer ships handicapped Foster children to Texas and handicapped kids in Mississippi Are afforded full educational opportunities. And in Texas the used scald health program was stopped from reducing services that might harm poor children. Since 1961, however the Lund s most publicized Battles have bean Over Money for Federal programs. In that Arena Edelman has suffered setbacks. With his first budget in fiscal 1982, preside no Reagan managed to trim about $10 billion from programs affect Long poor children the fund says. The major chunks came out of medical Aid for families with dependent children food Stamps child null lion programs College Aid and housing. These cuts slowed in the following years. We re in Yang to recoup and get Back to where we were in 19bo," Edelman said. For instance the fund worked to upgrade a remedial Reading program that was irl med in 1982 and ii has pushed Tor a pattern of changes in medical including one making it easier for pregnant mothers Logel care. But Sha worries about the mood in Congress where lawmakers Are toying with measures that would balance the budget with across the Board cuts Over  s like a Hurricane coming through and it s uprooting the Trees you be been nourishing and trying to Plant and get to  she says adding that children Are the ones Al risk. Census Bureau figures indicate that the number of children mired in poverty has increased since 1979.belwean 1979 and 1983. The number of poor children increased by nearly 3.5 million the Bureau said. They declined by 520,000 in the following year bul that drop was entirely among while children. The poverty Rale for Black children was 46.2 percent in 1984. Budget cutting combined with the Reagan philosophy of reducing the role of Federal government irks Ederman. And Marion Wright Edelman ii porn ident of the children of Elfenie fund she s not afraid to speak her mind. Although she agrees Wilh conservatives on the need to stress family Lite Edelman Calls them absolute hypocrites if i can be very Blunt about it. I Don t understand How you can be pro life and not be out there  pre Natal care nol be out there fighting for the kind of child care support and nutrition support that helps mothers do a Good Job with Ihler  she says. For us part the administration staunchly defends its record. Children Ara a top priority says Enid Borden a spokeswoman Tor the department of health and human services office of human development services. We have not made cuts she says. They Are  whatever changes have been made were in the interest of targeting resources More effectively she says. Among those programs emphasized by the administration Are head Start the pre school education program for poor kids and adoption programs. Some conservatives think Edelman s ideas however Noble do not bring results. Charles Murray a senior fellow Al the conservative Manhattan Institute and author of a Book entitled losing  which advocates culling welfare programs is one of i hem. Everyone warns to help children. Murray says adding thai he believes in pouring Money into education. Bui he criticizes groups like the children s Welense fund for what he Calls their failure to Allach a moral stigma to out of Wedlock teen age pregnancies. Wilhour  reprobation he fears a Cycle of welfare will perpetuate itself. The Federal government should Stop making it possible for these mothers to keep their children without assuming any responsibility for their actions he said Edelman attended Spelman College a Black school in Atlanta from which she graduated no. 1 in her class. Later she won a scholarship to Yale Law school graduating there in 1963. Alter a year in new York she went to Jackson miss., where for Lour years she directed the a act s Legal defense fund. Her husband is Peler Ede Man whom she met when As an aide to the late sen. Robert Kennedy he visited Mississippi Edelman is now a professor of Law at Georgetown University. The couple has three sons Ages 16, 15, and 11. This year Edelman was awarded a Macarthur foundation Fellowship which gives her More than s 100,000 Over the Nail live years. The awards go to people who have control ruled to society. Like a True believer Edelman believes that people will come around to her views in we do a better Job of presenting our Case in this deficit  we Are making real Progress and helping people understand thai their self interest lies in investing in children and  saturday. January 25, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 13