Marian Wright Edelman is the first Afro-American who practised law as member of Mississippi state bar. She remained a social reformer and activist throughout her life and founded the Children’s Defense Fund to advocate the cause of children and to support child care and protection for handicapped at the federal and state level. (Kennedy, 2002) Although she longed for a career in Foreign Service after having exposure Soviet Union on Lisle Scholarship in those days of Cold War but later turned toward law studies after becoming involved in Civil Rights Movement.Social needs of love for one’s community and belongings were the decisive factor that motivated her change her mind and adopt a path to serve her community at a wider level. The motivation was inculcated in her spirit by the teachings of her father who always urged her to serve others.
So serving other was the basic motivation and she considered it the sole purpose of her life as she says, “Service is the rent we pay to be living.It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time. ” (Lewis) Pathos and miseries of Afro-American and yearning for socio-political equality were the basic motivations for her to look for q life of egalitarianism for her community. Cherished American ideals of equality, democracy and justice also drove her to campaign for social equality and to combat injustice to minorities in general and Afro-American in particular.She hankered after these ideals throughout her life.
These motivators forced her to study law in order to capacitate herself with necessary abilities to advocate the cause of the deprived Afro-American community and to work on the issues of racial discrimination. Later on, social need for a more acceptability for deprived and handicapped children led to expand the circle of her activities and establish Children’s Defense Fund.
