Marian Wright Edelman Is SPU's Commencement Speaker

Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), will speak at 西雅图 Pacific University’s Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, June 14, at 关键领域 in downtown 西雅图.

Edelman was the first black woman admitted to the 密西西比州 Bar, where she directed the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, 密西西比州. She acted as counsel for the Poor People’s Campaign, which was organized by Martin Luther King Jr. 在他去世之前. She also founded the Washington Research Project and served for two years as the director of the Center for Law and Education at Harvard University.

She began CDF in 1973 as a nonprofit child advocacy organization. CDF works to strengthen policies and programs that lift children out of poverty, protect them from abuse and neglect, and ensure their access to health care, 素质教育, and a moral and spiritual foundation.

Edelman has received more than 100 honorary degrees, and in 2000 received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Robert F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award for her writings. She is the author of several books.

关键领域 is located at 305 Harrison Street at the 西雅图 Center north of downtown. The Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. Parking is available in various parking lots and garages around 关键领域. This event is free, but a ticket is required for admission. For more information, contact Manager of Public Information Tracy Norlen at 206-281-2977.

Posted: Thursday, March 20, 2014