SLS 11RS-1953 ORIGINAL
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Regular Session, 2011
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 82
BY SENATOR JACKSON
SENATE. Recognizes Wednesday, June 8, 2011, as Children's Defense Fund Day and
commends the Children's Defense Fund.
A RESOLUTION1
To recognize Wednesday, June 8, 2011, as Children's Defense Fund Day and to commend2
the Children's Defense Fund.3
WHEREAS, the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is the foremost national proponent4
of policies and programs that provide children with the resources they need to succeed; and5
WHEREAS, the CDF champions policies that will lift children out of poverty,6
protect them from abuse and neglect, and ensure their access to healthcare, quality education,7
and a moral and spiritual foundation; and8
WHEREAS, the CDF grew out of the Civil Rights Movement under the leadership9
of Marian Wright Edelman; and10
WHEREAS, the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar, Mrs. Edelman11
directed the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, Mississippi,12
worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as counsel for his Poor People's Campaign, and13
dedicated her early career to defending the civil liberties of people struggling to overcome14
poverty and discrimination; and15
WHEREAS, in 1969, Mrs. Edelman began the Washington Research Project, a16
public interest law firm that monitored federal programs for low-income families, and she17
founded the CDF in 1973; and18 SR NO. 82
SLS 11RS-1953 ORIGINAL
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WHEREAS, on October 6, 2008, friends of the CDF from across the country and1
from all walks of life came together to celebrate the accomplishments and rededication of2
efforts for America's children at CDF's Thirty-Fifth Anniversary Gala at the Kennedy Center3
in Washington, D.C.; and4
WHEREAS, the mission of the CDF's Leave No Child Behind program is to ensure5
every child a healthy start, a head start, a fair start, a safe start, and a moral start in life and6
successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities; and7
WHEREAS, the CDF provides a strong, effective, and independent voice for all the8
children of America who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves; and9
WHEREAS, the CDF educates the nation about the needs of children and encourages10
preventive investments before they get sick, drop out of school, get into trouble, or suffer11
family breakdown; and12
WHEREAS, the CDF pays particular attention to the needs of poor and minority13
children and those with disabilities and advocates to dismantle the cradle to prison pipeline14
across America to ensure that all children become successful and law-abiding; and15
WHEREAS, it is appropriate to set aside a special day in recognition of the16
outstanding work of the Children's Defense Fund.17
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana18
does hereby recognize Wednesday, June 8, 2011, as Children's Defense Fund Day in the19
state of Louisiana and does hereby commend the Children's Defense Fund for its manifold20
contributions to the state and to children and families for more than three decades.21
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the22
Louisiana and Washington, D.C., offices of the Children's Defense Fund.23
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Bobbie Hunter.
DIGEST
Jackson SR No.
Recognizes Wednesday, June 8, 2011, as Children's Defense Fund Day in Louisiana and
commends the Children's Defense Fund for its manifold contributions to the state and to
children and families for more than three decades.