Bill Text: NY J00410 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

New York Senate Resolution 410 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Commending the Children's Defense Fund New York upon the occasion of its Beat the Odds Annual Celebration with a Special Salute to Founder and President

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 40-23)

Status: (Passed) 2019-02-12 - ADOPTED [J00410 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-J00410-Introduced.html


Senate Resolution No. 410

BY: Senator MONTGOMERY

        COMMENDING  the  Children's  Defense Fund New York
        upon the  occasion  of  its  Beat  the  Odds  Annual
        Celebration  with  a  Special  Salute to Founder and
        President Emerita Marian Wright Edelman

  WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize that
the quality and character of life in the  communities  across  New  York
State  are  reflective  of  the concerned and dedicated efforts of those
organizations and individuals who would devote themselves to the welfare
of the community and its citizenry; and

  WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and  in  full  accord  with  its
long-standing  traditions,  this  Legislative  Body  is  justly proud to
commend the Children's Defense Fund New York upon the  occasion  of  its
Beat  the  Odds  Annual Celebration on Monday, February 25, 2019, at The
Pierre, New York City, with a Special Salute to  Founder  and  President
Emerita Marian Wright Edelman; and

  WHEREAS,  The  unity  of  our  State  and  Nation  is built upon the
compassion of individuals such as Marian Wright Edelman who  uphold  the
values of community life and who, through their great actions, epitomize
the best of humanity; and

  WHEREAS, Marian Wright Edelman, Founder and President Emerita of the
Children's  Defense  Fund  (CDF), has been an advocate for disadvantaged
Americans for her entire professional life; under her  able  leadership,
CDF  has  become the nation's strongest voice for children and families;
and

  WHEREAS, Remaining true to its mission, CDF ensures  every  child  a
Healthy  Start,  a  Head  Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral
Start in life and successful passage  to  adulthood  with  the  help  of
caring families and communities; and

  WHEREAS,  Marian  Wright  Edelman, a graduate of Spelman College and
Yale Law School, began her career in the mid-1960s when,  as  the  first
black  woman  admitted  to  the  Mississippi Bar, she directed the NAACP
Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, Mississippi; and

  WHEREAS, In 1968, Marian Wright Edelman moved to  Washington,  D.C.,
where  she  served  as  counsel for the Poor People's Campaign which Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. began organizing before his death;  during  this
time, she founded the Washington Research Project, a public interest law
firm and the parent body of the Children's Defense Fund; and

  WHEREAS, For two years, Marian Wright Edelman served as the Director
of  the  Center  for  Law  and  Education  at Harvard University, before
founding CDF in 1973; and

  WHEREAS, Marian Wright Edelman served on the Board  of  Trustees  of
Spelman  College  which she chaired from 1976 to 1987, and was the first
woman elected by alumni as a member of the Yale  University  Corporation
which she served from 1971 to 1977; and


  WHEREAS,  In  addition  to receiving more than 100 honorary degrees,
Marian Wright Edelman is the proud recipient of  the  Albert  Schweitzer
Humanitarian  Prize,  the  Heinz  Award and a MacArthur Foundation Prize
Fellowship; and

  WHEREAS, Marian Wright Edelman received the  Presidential  Medal  of
Freedom,  the nation's highest civilian award, and the Robert F. Kennedy
Lifetime Achievement Award for her writings which include:  Families  in
Peril: An Agenda for Social Change; The Measure of Our Success: A Letter
to  My  Children  and  Yours;  Guide My Feet: Meditations and Prayers on
Loving and Working for Children; Stand for Children; Lanterns: A  Memoir
of  Mentors;  Hold  My Hand: Prayers for Building a Movement to Leave No
Child Behind; I'm Your Child, God: Prayers for Our Children; I Can  Make
a Difference: A Treasury to Inspire Our Children; and The Sea Is So Wide
and My Boat Is So Small: Charting a Course for the Next Generation; and

  WHEREAS,  A  true asset to society, Marian Wright Edelman is a board
member of the Robin Hood  Foundation  and  the  Association  to  Benefit
Children,  as  well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the
American  Philosophical  Society,  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and
Sciences,  and  the  Institute  of  Medicine  of the National Academy of
Sciences; and

  WHEREAS, With her throughout have been her husband, Peter, and their
three sons, Joshua, Jonah, and Ezra,  as  well  as  four  grandchildren,
Ellika,  Zoe,  Elijah  and Levi, who have all shown her love and support
and rejoice in her many achievements; and

  WHEREAS, It  is  the  sense  of  this  Legislative  Body  that  when
individuals and organizations of such noble aims and accomplishments are
brought  to  our  attention, they should be celebrated and recognized by
all the citizens of the great State of New York; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
commend  the  Children's  Defense Fund New York upon the occasion of its
Beat the Odds Annual Celebration with a Special Salute  to  Founder  and
President Emerita Marian Wright Edelman; and be it further

  RESOLVED,  That  a  copy  of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Marian Wright Edelman,  Founder  and  President  Emerita,
Children's Defense Fund.