Robert F. Kennedy: Remarks on the Death of Martin Luther King

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. He saw the divisions within the United States as tremendous obstacles to American progress toward the ideals of freedom, liberty, and equality. So it was with a heavy heart born of personal experience as well as political awareness that he addressed a predominantly African-American crowd in Indianapolis, Indiana, on the night of Martin Luther King’s death. In his Remarks on the Death of Martin Luther King he reminded the gathering that King had provided incomparable leadership during the civil rights movement and expresses the hope that Americans will move beyond division and hatred.