A concurrent RESOLUTION

 

to designate Saturday, JUNE 6, 2026, as "Marian Wright Edelman Day," encouraging residents, educators, students, and community organizations to celebrate her legacy through acts of service, through wellness and mindfulness practices, and through efforts that advance opportunity and justice for all children.

 

Whereas, born on June 6, 1939, Marian Wright Edelman is a daughter of the late Reverend Arthur Jerome Wright and Maggie Leola Bowen Wright, and was reared in Bennettsville with her five siblings in a community that nurtured her commitment to faith, learning, service, and the well-being of children; and

 

Whereas, her father was among the founders of Shiloh Baptist Church and instilled in her the belief that education and service were the pathway out of poverty and that "you can't be what you can't see," shaping her lifelong commitment to children and justice; and

Whereas, Ms. Edelman graduated from Marlboro Training High School and Spelman College and later earned a juris doctorate from Yale Law School. She was the first Black woman admitted to the Mississippi State Bar, breaking barriers that continue to inspire generations of young leaders; and

 

Whereas, in her early career, she served as a civil rights lawyer in Mississippi, advocating for justice alongside local communities, and later founded the Washington Research Project, a public interest law firm dedicated to exposing the effects of poverty and advancing equity for children and families; and

 

Whereas, in 1973, building on her work with the Washington Research Project, Ms. Edelman founded the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), now one of the nation's leading child advocacy organizations, grounded in the belief that every child deserves a safe, healthy, fair, and moral start in life and the opportunity to grow with dignity, hope, and joy; and

 

Whereas, CDF has worked for more than five decades to expand access to healthcare, early childhood education, child nutrition, quality schools, and family supports that strengthen communities and promote lifelong wellness; and

 

Whereas, Ms. Edelman has long taught that we are called not to curse the darkness of injustice but to light candles as beacons of hope, courage, and moral clarity that guide children and communities toward a brighter, more just future; and

 

Whereas, the CDF Freedom Schools program, rooted in the Civil Rights tradition and inspired by the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project, carries forward a legacy of education, empowerment, and justice; and

 

Whereas, CDF Freedom Schools today are committed to literacy, leadership development, and social-emotional wellness, continuing to uplift and develop children, youth, and families across the nation and South Carolina through affirming learning spaces that cultivate mindfulness, joy, confidence, and a love of reading at current and former sites. The current state sites include Francis Burns United Methodist Church, Journey United Methodist Church, and W. A. Perry Middle School in Columbia; Metanoia and E3 & Jenkins Youth & Family Village in North Charleston; Palmetto Works Community Development Corporation in Conway; and Savannah Grove Baptist Church in Florence; and

 

Whereas, former state sites of CDF Freedom Schools included the College of Charleston, Landmark for Families in North Charleston, Thumbs Up in Beaufort, Marlboro County Partners in Bennettsville, and Claflin University in Orangeburg; and

 

Whereas, CDF Freedom Schools have served over two hundred forty thousand K-12 scholars since 1995, and more than twenty thousand young adults have been trained in the "Freedom School Way" of leadership, cultural pride, and social justice; and

 

Whereas, the legacy of Ms. Edelman continues to live on in South Carolina through CDF Freedom Schools and community-based partnerships that reflect her vision for empowered, educated, and supported children; and

 

Whereas, she has been awarded the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Prize, the Heinz Award, the Ella J. Baker Prize, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, and she is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated; and

 

Whereas, establishing Marian Wright Edelman Day in South Carolina would honor her transformative legacy and affirm the state's commitment to children's wellness, educational equity, and the power of mindful, community-centered leadership. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

 

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, designate Saturday, June 6, 2026, as "Marian Wright Edelman Day," encouraging residents, educators, students, and community organizations to celebrate her legacy through acts of service, through wellness and mindfulness practices, and through efforts that advance opportunity and justice for all children.

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