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Atlanta, Georgia Founder’s Day Speaker Atty Edelman Exposes Weasels Within And Without by Lisha B. Brown Associate Editor “Spelman women have to corporations and prosperous speak out,” said Atty. Marian Wright Edelman. And that was exactly what she did asthisyear's guest for the Founder’s Day Service. In 1960, Atty. Edelman graduated from Spelman. She continued her studies at Yale University, then returned to the South to practice law. Presently, she is the director of the Children’ Defense Fund, which she founded, and chairman of the Spelman College Board of Trustees. This particular Sunday after noon she stood before the faculty, the graduating class of ‘82, underclassmen and parents to speak about ‘‘the weasels within and the weasels without the Black community.” Atty. Edelman spoke frankly and can didly as a “concerned Black woman.” She stated that we should “identify, analyze, and respond forcefully” to these weasels that are progressively destroying our community Atty. Edelman first identified the weasels without the Black community, the first being Presi dent Reagan. She explained his misspending of the budget to be “comprehensive in its attack to wipe out affirmative action, busing, and to destroy legal services.” Astonishing statistics were being quoted throughout her speech. "Last year ten billion • dollars were taken from the neediest, poorest, and most abused children and families." This year Reagan is planning to take an additional eight- billion from these same families. At the same time he is alloting $750 billion to affluent individuals in the name of economic recovery. She continued to rattle off statistics pertaining to Reagan’s budget cuts: “Compensatory education cut by 51 percent, handicapped children’s fund cut by 30 percent, child abuse funds by 38 percent.” However, Reagan claims he is not really cutting the actual funding; he’s only cutting their rate of in flationary increase per year. In addition, financial aid and work study in higher education will be reduced by 59 percent. She defines Reagan’s cuts as “mer ciless assaults on the poor." The second weasel without in Atty. Edelman’s speech was defined as the opportunistic budget director, Stockman. “He has tried to reduce very complex human needs to simple budget formulas.” She urged the audience to become more aware of budget decisions and know how our money is being spent. The last weasel without was identified as greedy military spending. According to Atty. Edelman, Reagan intends to spent $1.7 trillion on defense spending over the next five years. "We have a very fun damental decision,” she explain ed, “whether we are going to invest in young people and human capitol development or are we going to invest in the rich and more and more arms.” Atty. Edelman continued by saying, "Now, if we are going to respond to these weasels without, we must first deal with those within.” Again the audience was stunned by her statistics regarding the Black INSIDE THIS ISSUE Founder’s Day Festivities Greek Week Review Community Calendar Exam Schedule Attorney Marian Edelman chats with Dr. Moreland and members of Class of '82 prior to Founder’s Day Services. Photo by Jo Moore Stewart vote. “Only half of the voting age Blacks voted in the 1980eiection. Three out of four youths between the ages of eighteen and twenty did notvote.” Atty. Edelman stressed the impor tance of exercising our right to vote. Not only did she demand that each student in the audience obligate themselves to vote in upcoming elections, she also urged them to write their congressman. “Letters matter,” said Atty. Edelman. She reminded each of us that we are our brother's and sister’s keepers and encouraged everyone to keep or build con nections between themselves and the Black community. “I hope you will find a way to figure out how you can use that extra set of skills for all those folks who don’t have the ability or chance you have. ... All of us are in the same basket.” Atty. Edelman then expressed her worry concerning the number of children we are losing each year. According to her statistics, Black children are seven times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, and five times more likely to be victims of homicide than white youths. “Each year 30,000 Black males under twenty- four enter college while 350,000 Black males under eighteen are arrested.” Atty. Edelman noted the serious implication these statistics foreshadow on the future of our people. Next, she focused on the problems of teenage pregnan cies and single headed families in the Black community. "In 1980, one in two Black children were born poor. By 1990,60 percent of our Black children will be in female headed households.” Atty. Edelman stressed that “we should deal with the problemsof poverty, deal with the problem of having children.” In concluding her speech, she directed her final words to her Spelman sisters. "Something is wrong with our values because we are beginning to mix up style with substance.” According to Atty. Edelman, we have lost our sense of what is important. “A sense of purpose stems from who you are and where you come from.” However, it seems as though we are without this sense of purpose. In analyzing the situation, she stated, “I’m not sure you’ve got anything to rebel against, because you got too much too soon.” But she en courages us to remember our past of purpose and struggle. Finally, she listed five expec tations of her audience: (1) that we learn howtothink,(2)thatwe READ and acquire the desire to lear hand instill the desire in our children, (3) to become political - ly active, (4) to have confidence in ourselves and know what is right and wrong, and (5) to know our history. "You’ve got so much history, so much pride,” said our Spelman sister, “...but you’re going to have to know more, work harder.... and pay more attention to what’s important.”