Landers says Edelman is particularly important to the national political scene because she has shown that a female minority can significantly influence society.

"Her presence as an African-American woman in some of the most powerful circles in Washington, and the impact that she has made, suggests the importance of keeping those circles open to everyone," Landers says.

Edelman, however, is not without her critics. Last February, an article in The New Republic accused her of being inconsistent in her treatment of the "culture of poverty"

The article states that Edelman, in her lectures at Harvard, acknowledged the existence of "a small subgroup of the poverty population alienated from or hostile to the larger society."

But, the article argues that Edelman's statements made through the Children's Defense Fund indicate that she is "railing against attempts to confront the culture of poverty whose existence she herself implicitly concedes."

The criticism was voiced concurrently with her perceived increase in power due to the debut of the Clinton administration. Hillary Rodham Clinton had served as the chairperson of the Children's Defense Fund before the election of President Clinton.

The New Republic article asserts that Edelman's use of children as her cause belies her true mission to increase welfare aid to poverty- stricken Blacks and ghetto-dwellers.

Meanwhile, Edelman's accomplishments led to speculation by Newsweek magazine earlier this year that President Clinton was considering Edelman for either a Cabinet position or a possible appointment to the Supreme Court.

Newsweek's profile of Edelman, which accompanied her designation as one of the publication's 1992 women of the year, suggested that Edelman might turn down a government post in order to maintain "her independence as an outside voice."

That unwavering commitment to her cause might have even brought her as much power as any political office. In 1987, Senator Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56 (D-Mass.) described Edelman in Time magazine as the "101st Senator on children's issues.. She has real power in Congress and uses it brilliantly."

Her efforts seem to have paid off, as President Clinton is pushing for some of the humanitarian reforms she has supported for years. Those ideas include tederally-funded day care and health care insurance.

"If there are national policies which are implemented in the near future regarding children and families, [Edelman] is one of the few people in the country who truly deserves the credit," Bok says.

At Harvard

The Harvard community apparently has agreed with that assertion in the past.

Edelman earned a standing ovation in 1989 for her Radcliffe Medal acceptance speech, in which she urged Americans to put aside personal ambitions and greed to head off devastating poverty among children. She pointed out that children "are growing poorer while our nation is growing richer."

"Mrs. Edelman is an excellent role model for members of any generation, and she will inspire anyone who chooses to heed her message," Landers says.