<I>Marian Wright Edelman Oral History Interview</I>
date: label: Date
content: September 8, 2017
name: label: Created by
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003
label: Interview of
content: Marian Wright Edelman, American, born 1939
label: Interviewed by
content: Kelly Elaine Navies, American
label: Recorded by
content: Kim Moir, American
label: Subject of
content: Poor People's Campaign, American, 1967 - 1968
label: Subject of
content: Children's Defense Fund, American, founded 1973
label: Subject of
content: Spelman College, American, founded 1881
label: Subject of
content: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American, 1929 - 1968
label: Subject of
content: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American, founded 1909
label: Subject of
content: NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., American, founded 1940
label: Subject of
content: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, American, 1960 - 1970s
label: Subject of
content: Robert Parris Moses, American, 1935 - 2021
label: Subject of
content: Medgar Evers, American, 1925 - 1963
label: Subject of
content: Mississippi Freedom Summer Project, American, founded 1964
label: Subject of
content: Senator Robert F. Kennedy, American, 1925 - 1968
label: Subject of
content: Rev. William Joseph Barber II, American, born 1963
label: Subject of
content: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, American, founded 1964
label: Subject of
content: Child Development Group of Mississippi, American, founded 1965
notes: label: Description
content: An oral history consisting of a single digital video recording (2018.78.4.1). It was collected as part of the Poor People’s Campaign Interviews.
label: Description
content: In this oral history interview, Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president emerita of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), discusses her early life and work as a civil rights lawyer and activist, the Poor People’s Campaign of 1968, and her work with the CDF. The interview begins with a discussion of Mrs. Edelman’s upbringing and family life in Bennettsville, South Carolina, in which she identifies some of the experiences and relationships that informed her lifelong commitment to social justice work. Mrs. Edelman then discusses her time at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA, and her experiences in Europe (France, Switzerland, and the USSR) during her junior year.
label: Description
content: Turning to the 1960s, Mrs. Edelman discusses her work with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in Mississippi and traces the origins of the Poor People’s Campaign to the aftermath of two events: the 1964 Freedom Summer Project and the challenge of the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. She then discusses the Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM) and explains how the Poor People’s Campaign was conceived in response to widespread hunger caused by policies designed to crush the movement in Mississippi. Mrs. Edelman then discusses the Poor People’s Campaign itself. Mrs. Edelman concludes the interview by discussing the policy legacy of the Poor People’s Campaign and the ways she has continued to carry on the struggle through her work for the CDF.
place: label: Place collected
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: Bennettsville, Marlboro County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: Marks, Quitman County, Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Activism
label: Topic
content: Civil Rights
label: Topic
content: Humanitarianism
label: Topic
content: Justice
label: Topic
content: Labor
label: Topic
content: Politics
label: Topic
content: Poverty
label: Topic
content: Race relations
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, 1961-1969
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: Poor People’s Campaign Oral Histories
label: Classification
content: Time-based Media - Moving Images
label: Movement
content: Civil Rights Movement
label: Movement
content: African American - Latinx Solidarity
label: Movement
content: Poor People's Campaign
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2018.78.4.1
objectType: label: Type
content: video recordings
label: Type
content: oral histories
label: Type
content: digital media - born digital
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: digital
label: Dimensions
content: Duration: 01:59:50
label: Dimensions
content: 35.53 GB