Marian Wright Edelman earned her law degree from Yale University and became the first African American woman to be admitted to the bar in Mississippi. As a leader with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Mrs. Edelman helped coordinate the Poor People’s Campaign after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and founded the Children’s Defense Fund, which became a powerful and successful advocate for government programs such as Head Start to benefit underprivileged and neglected children, foster children, and children with disabilities. Mrs. Edelman has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award, has chaired the Board of Trustees of Spelman College, and has written several books on the welfare of children and families.