Tenth and final Friedman Legacy Day to be celebrated around the world this month
More than 100 events will honor the life and intellectual legacy of legendary economist Dr. Milton Friedman
INDIANAPOLIS – At the end of this month, more than 100 organizations across the United States and around the world will host events honoring the life and work of Milton Friedman, a Nobel Laureate who is widely recognized as one of the most influential economists of the last century and the father of the modern educational choice movement.
This will the 10th and final celebration of Friedman Legacy Day, which was established following Friedman’s death in 2006 as a way to remember his incomparable contributions to modern free market and economic theory.
The events, most of which will be held on July 29, will be co-sponsored by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, a national nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Friedman and his wife, Rose. There will be 69 Friedman Day events in the United States and 40 around the world.
In accordance with Milton and Rose’s wishes, the Friedman Foundation will announce a new name on July 29 to better reflect the future of the organization while maintaining the Friedmans’ intellectual legacy of educational choice.
“We’re thrilled to have all of these organizations across America and around the world keeping Milton Friedman’s powerful ideas alive, and we want to express our gratitude that so many groups have been part of Legacy Day over the past decade,” said Friedman Foundation President and CEO Robert C. Enlow.
“On July 29, we will mark the end of a chapter but not of an era as we continue to pursue Milton and Rose’s vision of educational choice under our new name,” Enlow continued. “While this will be the last Legacy Day celebration, we will never lose sight of the Friedmans’ incredible contributions to our society and our mission to empower parents.”
Milton Friedman won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1976 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1988. An adviser to several U.S. Presidents, he authored such books as Capitalism and Freedom and Free to Choose, which also became a popular 10-part public television series. He is considered the architect of the all-volunteer army and school choice.
In 1996, Dr. Friedman and his wife, Rose, founded the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice to research and promote school choice, an idea he originally proposed in 1955. Over the past 20 years, educational choice has transformed from a concept embraced in a few cities and towns to a movement that includes 61 programs in 30 states and the District of Columbia. Hundreds of thousands of American students currently use choice programs to access an education that works best for them.
ABOUT THE FRIEDMAN FOUNDATION
For 20 years, the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice has been a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing Milton and Rose Friedman’s vision of school choice for all children. The Foundation is a trusted voice promoting school choice as the most effective and equitable way to improve the quality of K–12 education in America. The Friedman Foundation is dedicated to research, education and outreach on the vital issues and implications related to school choice. On July 29, in accordance with the wishes of Milton and Rose Friedman, the Foundation will change its name to reflect the future of the organization while maintaining the Friedmans’ intellectual legacy of educational choice.
