Show ARIAN WRIGHT Edelman says we all could learn some- thing from the city of Lynn Mass “A child was killed near a church” she told me “It was a terrible tragedy The minister and the church members got together and went down to City Hall and said ‘We need someplace for our children to go We need to give them things to do’ But the City Council told them there was no money So they read the city budget They realized they could read it just like their church budget They found places where they could make cuts and raise the money to fund recreation activities They were doing what this whole nation has to do: stand ing up for children" On Saturday June I if Edelman has her way this whole nation will do just that in a dramatically visible way On this first national Stand for Children day Edelman — president of the Children’s Defense Fund — is planning to assemble many thousands of parents grandparents teachers cletgy and leaders in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC Police officers and pediatricians nuns and nurses and families from around the country will come to the nation's capital for one reason: "We're going to send a message that we want to protect children" Edelman said "and we want that message to be heard in the Capitol in the White House in every prut of America" I went to Washington to talk with Marian Wright Edelman and find out why the world's richest nation needs a special day to remember its children It took her no time at all to reel off a list of reasons: "A child efies of neglect or abuse every seven hours" she said "a child dies from gunshots every two hours — that's an entire grade-scho- ol class every other day More than 97i million children have no health insurance and that number may go up to 19 million with corporate layoffs and government cutbacks That’s unacceptable" "As a nation we pride ourselves on our commitment to family" Edelman added "While every adult has a duty to every child the roie of parents is primary But we also need to realize that parents can’t do everything Parents can't control it if their corporations downsize or move elsewhere But the children are affected by this — they lose health care too they lose their security Parents are part of the communities we all five in We can't go on acting as if dry are an island Ws hive to get dkithen 3£a©t3s On June 1 hundreds of thousands of Americans of all at the Lincoln Memorial to launch the nation's first STAND FOR CHILDREN WutJ back to the center of the community" Stand for Children although it aims to get our nation's leaders thinking about Lids— and acting — is not a partisan event "Both Democrats and Re- publicans need to think about what we are doing to children in this country" B Y it DAY Parade will be there Wherever you live you can be a part of it too BB nuaw nimmut mum mem mm rmi mttnmum tr tnMi jrorM i mt( mm ages wifl gather BX X Edelman said As she pointed out the government initiatives for chikhen have come from both parties — from Harry Truman's school lunch program to Richard Nixon’s nutrition programs for mothers and children And in the past two decades they have been attacked by O mcnui iw u nuiwr x aunumm uwthght umr hhcl imimk i m H A E run aw s X both sides as weD "Children don't vote" Edelman said sadly 1 heard Gov Ro Romer of Colorado say something ven important the other day: He said we was should all vole as if an booth" die in next us to standing Already more than 1000 group RYAN SSBB T |