[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 92 (Thursday, June 5, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5146-S5147]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LATE SENATOR ROBERT F. KENNEDY

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, tomorrow our Nation will mark the 40th 
anniversary of Senator Robert F. Kennedy's death. In his all too brief 
lifetime, Robert Kennedy was an icon of the struggle for civil and 
human rights, social justice, and peace. In the midst of the civil 
rights movement, the increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam, and the 
assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Senator 
Kennedy stood as a beacon of hope, inspiring Americans from all walks 
of life that we could rise above our Nation's struggles. With his death 
in the early morning of June 6, 1968, America lost a true public 
servant, a voice for the underprivileged and underserved, and a source 
of hope during a turbulent time.
  My own political career began the year before, in 1967, but for years 
prior, Robert Kennedy's life had inspired me to seek public office. 
After managing his brother John's successful 1952 Senate campaign, 
Robert Kennedy worked briefly on Capitol Hill. He then went on to serve 
in his brother John's administration as Attorney General, where he was 
renowned for his diligence, effectiveness, and nonpartisanship. At 
Justice, he pursued a relentless battle against organized crime, 
frequently at odds with Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. 
Edgar Hoover. During his tenure, convictions of notorious organized 
crime figures rose eightfold. It was also during this time that Robert 
Kennedy moved to center stage in the struggle for civil rights. On May 
6, 1961, he visited the University of Georgia, which just months before 
had admitted its first black students. Kennedy addressed the 
university's law school, enunciating the administration's position on 
civil rights, stating:

       We must recognize the full human equality of all our 
     people--before God, before the law, and in the councils of 
     government. We must do this not because it is economically 
     advantageous--although it is; not because the laws of God and 
     man command it--although they do command it; not because 
     people in other lands wish it so. We must do it for the 
     single and fundamental reason that it is the right thing to 
     do.

  Robert Kennedy's commitment to promoting African Americans' right to 
vote, receive an equal education, and equal protection under the law 
intensified over time. In 1962 he sent U.S. Marshals and troops to 
Oxford, MS to enforce a Federal court order admitting the first black 
student, James Meredith, to the University of Mississippi. As Attorney 
General, Robert Kennedy demanded that every corner of Government begin 
recruiting realistic levels of blacks and other minorities. He 
collaborated with Presidents Kennedy and Johnson to create the landmark 
Civil Rights Act of 1964, and served as one of its most forceful and 
committed proponents.
  In 1964, Robert Kennedy ran for the U.S. Senate, challenging and 
defeating incumbent Republican Senator Kenneth Keating of New York. As 
a Senator, Robert Kennedy continued to champion civil rights, human 
rights, and disenfranchised peoples, both at home and abroad. When few 
politicians dared to entangle themselves in the politics of South 
Africa, Senator Kennedy spoke out against oppression and injustice 
there. His groundbreaking 1966 visit to South Africa helped awaken 
Americans to the bitter realities of apartheid. During this period, he 
vociferously opposed the Vietnam war, advocating for increased 
diplomacy rather than the use of force.
  At home in New York, Senator Kennedy initiated a number of projects 
in the State, including assistance to underprivileged children and 
students with disabilities. He authored legislation that led to the 
establishment of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, which 
improved living conditions and brought employment opportunities to 
economically depressed areas of Brooklyn. Now in its 40th year, the 
program remains a model for communities across the Nation. This program 
was part of a broader effort to address the needs of the dispossessed 
and powerless in America. He sought to bring the facts about poverty to 
the conscience of the American people, journeying into poor urban 
neighborhoods, Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, Indian reservations, 
and migrant workers' camps.
  Senator Kennedy's fervent belief that America could do better 
compelled him to seek the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1968. 
The night of June 5 should have been a triumphant one for Robert 
Kennedy. After winning the California primary by four points, he seemed 
destined to secure the nomination, standing as a symbol of the hope and 
change that so many people across the country desperately wanted, but 
his life was cut short by an assassin's bullet. Coming a mere 2 months 
after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Kennedy's death 
shocked the Nation.
  Early in the afternoon on June 6, 1968, Robert Kennedy's body was 
flown from California to New York City's St. Patrick's Cathedral for a 
requiem mass. On Saturday, June 8, a funeral train of 20 cars 
transported Robert Kennedy's body from New York, through Baltimore, to 
Washington. Tens of thousands of Americans--some in the press estimated 
a million people--lined the tracks to pay their respects. Robert 
Kennedy's casket traveled down Constitution Avenue, past the Justice 
Department Building that now bears his name, to the Lincoln Memorial 
and across the bridge to Arlington National Cemetery, where he was 
buried next to his brother, President John F. Kennedy.
  The legacy of Robert F. Kennedy--the passion with which he fought for

[[Page S5147]]

civil and human rights, and his steadfast dedication to the 
dispossessed--has lived on in this Chamber for the past 40 years 
through his brother, our distinguished colleague and friend, Senator 
Ted Kennedy. We are fortunate indeed that the Kennedy family's selfless 
service to our Nation has extended to younger generations. In the House 
of Representatives, I was proud to serve with Robert Kennedy's eldest 
son, Joe, and his nephew, Patrick. His eldest daughter, Kathleen 
Kennedy Townsend, served as Maryland's Lieutenant Governor for 8 years. 
But the Kennedy family's wonderful record of public service is not 
limited to elective office alone. Think of Joe Kennedy, who founded the 
Citizens Energy Corporation; or Robert Kennedy, Jr., who established 
the Waterkeeper Alliance; or Courtney Kennedy Hill, who worked as a 
representative for the United Nations AIDS Foundation. And I would be 
remiss not to mention Robert Kennedy's amazing wife, Ethel, widowed at 
the age of 40 with 10 children and pregnant with another. Her courage 
and grace are an inspiration to us all.
  At Robert Kennedy's request, his grave consists of a plain white 
cross and a stone slab on which is inscribed a passage from his Day of 
Affirmation speech to South Africans. It reads:

       Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve 
     the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends 
     forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a 
     million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples 
     build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of 
     oppression and resistance.

  We can honor Robert Kennedy, his legacy, and his promise by standing 
up for an ideal, by acting to improve the lot of others, by striking 
out against injustice, and by sending forth those ripples of hope our 
Nation and the rest of the world so desperately need.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The junior Senator from Oregon is recognized.
  Mr. SMITH. I thank the Presiding Officer.

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