Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, and the late Septima Poinsette Clarke, a notable civil rights activists, were inducted Monday Feb. 24, 2014 into the South Carolina Hall of fame at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
Every year, the South Carolina Hall of Fame inducts persons who have made outstanding contributions to the state’s heritage and progress.
Edelman was selected for advocating for the disadvantaged people starting from the Civil Rights Movement era up to present, according to a press release for the awards.
Edelman said, in the release, that it was unacceptable for children to be the poorest group of Americans and Black children to be the poorest of the poor.
“We must confront the structural inequalities of opportunity and outcome that contribute to more than 16 million children living in poverty, almost half of them in extreme poverty,” said Edelman, adding, “They pose a greater threat to the economic, military and national security of our nation than any outside enemy.”
The late Septima Clark was selected for fighting courageously for equal educational opportunity, teacher pay equity and citizenship rights – especially the votes.
“indomitable civil rights activist, Septima Clark, helped lay the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement and equal educational opportunity in South Carolina and our nation,” said Dr. Leo Twiggs, Chairman of the Trustees of the Official South Carolina Hall of Fame, in a release.