rfk Bobby Kennedy

blank 1/18 not a tag?

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original Robert

Kennedy not the one who's now Trump's cabin described how this can happen and

48:26

let me end with his eloquent call to action some of you

He said "Each time a person stands up he or she sends forth a tiny ripple

of hope and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and

daring these ripples can build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls

:{:{of oppression}: shattuck

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy

Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Senator from New York from January 1965 until his assassination in June 1968. He was previously the 64th U.S. Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, serving under his older brother President John F. Kennedy and his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson. Kennedy was a member of the Democratic Party and is seen as an icon of modern American liberalism.

Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, the seventh child of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Kennedy. After serving in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a seaman apprentice from 1944 to 1946, Kennedy returned to Harvard University and graduated in 1948. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1951. He began his political career the following year as the manager for his brother John's successful campaign for the U.S. Senate.^[1] Prior to entering public office himself, he worked as a correspondent for The Boston Post and as an assistant counsel to the Senate committee chaired by Senator Joe McCarthy. He gained national attention as the chief counsel of the Senate Labor Rackets Committee from 1957 to 1959, where he publicly challenged TeamstersPresident Jimmy Hoffa over the corrupt practices of its union and authored The Enemy Within, a book about corruption in organized labor.

Kennedy resigned from the committee to conduct his brother's campaign in the 1960 presidential election.^[1] He was appointed United States Attorney General after the successful election and served as the closest advisor to the President from 1961 to 1963. His tenure is best known for its advocacy for the African-American Civil Rights Movement, the fight against organized crime and the Mafia, and involvement in U.S. foreign policy related to Cuba. After his brother's assassination, he remained in office in the Johnson Administration for several months. He left to run for the United States Senate from New York in 1964 and defeated Republican incumbent Kenneth Keating. In office, Kennedy opposed racial discrimination and U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He was an advocate for issues related to human rights and social justice and formed relationships with Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez.

In 1968, Kennedy was a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency; he appealed especially to poor, African American, Hispanic, Catholic and young voters. He had defeated Senator Eugene McCarthy in the California and South Dakota presidential primaries. Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, Kennedy was mortally wounded by Sirhan Sirhan, a 24-year-old Palestinian, because he had advocated American support for Israel. Kennedy died the following day.

Contents

• :{:{1:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Early life}:
  • :{:{1.1:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:St. Paul's and Portsmouth Priory}:
  • :{:{1.2:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Milton Academy}:
  • :{:{1.3:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Relationship with parents}:

• :{:{2:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Naval service (1944–1946)}:
• :{:{3:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Further study and journalism (1946–1951)}:
• :{:{4:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Senate committee counsel and political campaigns (1951–1960)}:
  • :{:{4.1:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:JFK Senate campaign and Joseph McCarthy (1952–1955)}:
  • :{:{4.2:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Stevenson aide and focus on organized labor (1956–1960)}:
  • :{:{4.3:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:JFK presidential campaign (1960)}:

• :{:{5:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Attorney General of the United States (1961–1964)}:
  • :{:{5.1:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Berlin}:
  • :{:{5.2:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Organized crime and the Teamsters}:
  • :{:{5.3:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Civil rights}:
  • :{:{5.4:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:U.S. Steel}:
  • :{:{5.5:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Death penalty issues}:
  • :{:{5.6:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Cuba}:
  • :{:{5.7:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Assassination of President John F. Kennedy}:

• :{:{6:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Vice presidential candidate}:
• :{:{7:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:U.S. Senate (1965–1968)}:
  • :{:{7.1:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:1964 election}:
  • :{:{7.2:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Tenure}:
    • :{:{7.2.1:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Vietnam}:

• :{:{8:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Presidential candidate}:
• :{:{9:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Assassination}:
  • :{:{9.1:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Funeral}:
  • :{:{9.2:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Burial}:

• :{:{10:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Personal life}:
  • :{:{10.1:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Family}:
  • :{:{10.2:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Attitudes and approach}:
  • :{:{10.3:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Religious faith and Greek philosophy}:

• :{:{11:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Legacy}:
• :{:{12:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Honors}:
  • :{:{12.1:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.}:

• :{:{13:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Writings}:
• :{:{14:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Art, entertainment, and media}:
• :{:{15:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:See also}:
• :{:{16:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:References}:
  • :{:{16.1:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Citations}:
  • :{:{16.2:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:Bibliography}:

• :{:{17:(style="color:#222222ff"):}:External links}:

Early life

Robert Francis Kennedy was born on November 20, 1925, in Brookline, Massachusetts, the seventh child of businessman/politician Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888–1969) and philanthropist/socialite Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy (1890–1995).^[2] His older brothers were Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (1915–1944) and John F. "Jack" Kennedy (1917–1963), who was elected the 35th President of the United States in 1960. His younger brother was longtime United States Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy (1932–2009).^[3] All four of his grandparents were children of Irish immigrants.^[4]

His father was a wealthy businessman and a leading Irish Catholic figure in the Democratic Party. After he stepped down as ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1940, Joe Sr. focused his attention on his oldest son, Joseph Jr., expecting that he would enter politics and be elected president. He also urged the younger children to examine and discuss current events in order to propel them to public service.^[5] After Joseph Jr. was killed during World War II, the senior Kennedy's hopes fell on his second son, John, to become president. Joseph Sr. had the money and connections to play a central role in the family's political ambitions.^[6]

The Kennedy family at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, in 1931 with Robert on the bottom left in a jacket.

Kennedy's older brother John was often bedridden by illness and, as a result, became a voracious reader. Although he made little effort to get to know his younger brother during his childhood, John would take him for walks^[7] and regale him with the stories of heroes and adventures he had read.^[8] One of their favorite authors was John Buchan, who wrote The Thirty-Nine Steps, which influenced both Robert and John.^[7] John sometimes referred to Robert as "Black Robert" due to his prudishness and disposition.^[9]

Unlike his older brothers, Kennedy took to heart their mother Rose's agenda for everything to have "a purpose," which included visiting historic sites during family outings, visits to the church during morning walks, and games used to expand vocabulary and math skills.^[10] He described his position in the family hierarchy by saying, "When you come from that far down, you have to struggle to survive."^[11] As the boys were growing up, he tried frequently to get his older brothers' attention, but was seldom successful.^[7][8]

In September 1927, the Kennedy family moved to Riverdale, Bronx, New York and two years later, they relocated 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast to Bronxville, a small town in suburban Westchester County. During his childhood, Kennedy spent summers and early autumns^[12] with his family at their home (rented in 1926, then purchased in 1929)^[13] in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, and Christmas and Easter holidays at their winter retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, later purchased in 1933.

He attended Riverdale Country School—a private school for boys—from kindergarten through second grade. He then attended Bronxville Public School in lower Westchester County from third through fifth grade. He repeated the third grade.^[14] A teacher at Bronxville reflected that he was "a regular boy". She added, "It seemed hard for him to finish his work sometimes. But he was only ten after all."^[11][15] He then attended Riverdale Country School for the sixth grade. Kennedy would later recall that during childhood he was "going to different schools, always having to make new friends, and that I was very awkward...[a]nd I was pretty quiet most of the time. And I didn't mind being alone."^[16] He developed an interest in American history. He also decorated his bedroom with pictures of U.S. presidents and filled his bookshelves with volumes on the American Civil War. He also became an avid stamp collector and once received a handwritten letter from Franklin Roosevelt, who was also a philatelist.^[11]

In March 1938, Kennedy sailed to England with his mother and four youngest siblings to join his father who had begun serving as Ambassador to the United Kingdom. He attended the private Gibbs School for Boys in London for seventh grade. In April 1939, he gave his first public speech at the placing of a cornerstone for a youth club in England. According to embassy and newspaper reports, his statements were pencilled in his own hand and were delivered in a "calm and confident" manner.^[17] Bobby returned to the United States just before the outbreak of World War II in Europe.

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