Marian Wright Edelman, lifelong advocate for children and the founder of the Children's Defense Fund, has written a column applauding the emergence of child poverty as an issue in the 2020 race for the White House--and challenging more candidates to speak out: "The fact that the United States has one of the highest child poverty rates in the industrialized world is a moral obscenity and profound threat to America’s future. It’s time to ask all those running for president what steps they will take to end it."
Next week, we have another chance to get answers for children. The Democratic presidential candidates will debate on Wednesday night in Atlanta. It could be the 150th debate in a row without a child poverty question. We can't let that happen.
Please share this petition with as many of your friends and family as you can before Wednesday. With all the chaos and craziness in Washington right now, we need as many signatures as possible before debate night to show the moderators that child poverty is an issue voters want to hear about.
As Marian Wright Edelman says, "We must continue speaking up for children in this election and putting the issues that impact them front and center. Let’s all keep talking about child poverty and demanding urgent action because children only have one childhood and it is right now."