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 More Quotes by Marian Wright Edelman More Quotes From 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. Marian Wright Edelman cutting fighting children If it's wrong for 13-year-old inner-city girls to have babies without the benefit of marriage, it's wrong for rich celebrities, and we ought to stop putting them on the cover of People magazine. Marian Wright Edelman girl baby years So much of America's tragic and costly failure to care for all its children stems from our tendency to distinguish between our own children and other people's children--as if justice were divisible. Marian Wright Edelman children america people Democracy cannot breathe, indeed will die, if those enjoined to protect it and uphold the laws snuff it out - with no consequences. Marian Wright Edelman snuff democracy law Ordinary women of grace are, in a sense, my real role models. Marian Wright Edelman role-models real grace So often we think we have got to make a difference and be a big dog. Let us just try to be little fleas biting. Enough fleas biting strategically can make a big dog very uncomfortable. Marian Wright Edelman differences dog thinking It is time for every one of us to roll up our sleeves and put ourselves at the top of our commitment list. Marian Wright Edelman teens healing commitment God did not create two classes of children or human beings-only one. Marian Wright Edelman class two children 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 party children school 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 leader country children 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. The world wasn't so wonderful back then, with segregated rule in the South. But we were never hopeless and we never despaired because we had adults out there struggling with us, being there for us, and buffering us. Marian Wright Edelman helping-others religious struggle There were these great women in Montgomery, [Rosa Louise] Parks was among them. Jo Ann Robinson [who organized the bus boycott] was among them. It's always these ordinary women and men of grace who have been waiting and seething and planning to change things that are unjust that bring movement. Marian Wright Edelman grace waiting men 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 president-kennedys-assassination sadness promise I get very upset with all of the crowd seekers today, and people out there trying to get on TV. It ain't about you. It's about trying to make the world more just for everybody. Marian Wright Edelman upset trying people You can't tell parents to teach children the value of work when we don't have jobs and the jobs we have don't pay a decent wage. You can't tell children to achieve and then let them go to broken-down schools with teachers who don't care. We need a consistency of values in our public, corporate, and private lives. Marian Wright Edelman teacher children school 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 mothers-day inspiring father 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 children america years Family and moral values are so central to everything that I am. Marian Wright Edelman moral-values values moral 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 lunch strong children We all need to get out of our safety zones too. In addition to voting, we need to embarrass people who don't do the right thing. It's going to take citizen action. Marian Wright Edelman safety-zone voting people
