Robert F. Kennedy: Address at the University of California, Berkeley

Through the 1950s, Robert Kennedy worked as legal counsel on various Senate committees before managing his brother John’s successful campaign for president and then serving as attorney general in his brother’s administration. Coming out of the shadows after his brother’s assassination, in August 1964 Kennedy celebrated his brother’s accomplishments in his Tribute to John F. Kennedy at the Democratic National Convention and outlined a vision for the country’s future that he soon led the way in implementing. In 1966 a visit to South Africa provided an opportunity for him to give what may remain his most substantial explanation of the interrelationship of generational shift, social progress, and political leadership that was contributing to the growing desire for foundational change in the United States. In that national effort to achieve change, he saw it as the obligation of young Americans, particularly those from privileged backgrounds, to heed the call to public service and take the lead in shaping the American future. He conveyed that message to college students in 1966 in his Address at the University of California, Berkeley.