To all those mothers and fathers who are struggling with teen-agers, I say, just be patient: even though it looks like you can't do anything right for a number of years, parents become popular again when kids reach 20.
Marian Wright EdelmanI don't care what my children choose to do professionally, just as long as within their choices they understand they've got to give something back.
Marian Wright EdelmanNever work just for money or for power. They won't save your soul or help you sleep at night.
Marian Wright EdelmanWe're spending, on average, three times more for prison than for public-school pupils. That's the dumbest investment policy. It doesn't make us safer.
Marian Wright EdelmanAs [Martin Luther] King said, it never cost anybody a dime to integrate the lunch counters. When you start talking about trying to deal with jobs and hunger and things that require investment, then that's really the tough stuff, because everybody wants to do right if it doesn't cost them anything.
Marian Wright Edelman