Marian Wright Edelman is the President of the Children's Defense Fund and has been a long time advocate on behalf of children living in poverty.  She recently testified before Congress in favor of additional federal resources for poor children.  The title of her presentation to them was:  "Progress Report on the War on Poverty: Lessons from the Frontlines."  

Edelman was on the frontlines in Mississippi in 1964 shortly after President Lyndon Johnson declared a War on Poverty and CDF has stayed on the frontlines through state offices which together cover 40 percent of the nation’s poor children.  Edelman challenged committee members on both sides of the aisle to mount a long overdue, unwavering, and persistent war to prevent and eliminate child poverty and finish the task President Johnson and Dr. King began.

While Edelman is perhaps not as dynamic a speaker as she was in her earlier years, she is an icon in the War on Poverty and someone who has been a part of it since the beginning.

See Marian Wright Edelman in action:  VIDEO.