RFK: A Legacy in His Own Right

Robert F. Kennedy '48 is remembered by most as an attorney general, senator or presidential candidate, but some also remember him as a Harvard student and football player.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend '73, Robert and Ethel Kennedy's eldest daughter, remembers her father telling stories about his athletic feats--such as they were--in his college days.

Townsend, now lieutenant governor of Maryland, says her father was especially proud of his senior year on the football team. Kennedy had broken his leg in a game during the season, but he still wanted to play.

"In order to get your letter you had to play in The Harvard-Yale Game. His coach finally put him in and he got his letter. He was proud of that," Townsend says.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56 (D-Mass.) says his brother's efforts on the field indicated the determination which would mark his later career.

"He was not the typical size to make the Harvard football team, but after the practices he would go back to the field," Kennedy says. "He would keep on throwing the football and working on his technique and plays until he could master them. He made the team and earned his letter."

Kennedy says his brother was incredibly devoted to his team and a hard-working player.

"Loyalty and courage were the traits he admired most and exhibited himself," Kennedy says. "He showed that in his love and devotion to his family and his support for his friends and teammates--even if it meant playing when he had badly injured his leg."

In fact, Robert Kennedy even returned to play for his brother's team in Winthrop House's 1953 game against Yale's Davenport College.

"He flew up from Washington after he graduated," Sen. Kennedy said. "We knew we stood a chance of winning if Bobby was our ringer. He played and we won."

But Robert Kennedy's commitment to football, at least at the time, overshadowed his commitment to academics. Biographer Jack Newfield quotes Kennedy as confessing that he did not do much studying while at Harvard.

"To tell the truth, I didn't go to class very much," Kennedy says in Robert Kennedy: A Memoir. "I used to talk and argue a lot, mostly about sports and politics. I began thinking about issues about the time I went to college."

From Football Player to Presidential Candidate

Kennedy began his career as a Middle East correspondent for the Boston Post, but it was in law and politics, not journalism, that he made his mark.

Kennedy first came to the public's attention when he took the bold step of prosecuting numerous figures involved in organized crime, including the notorious Jimmy Hoffa.

Anthony Lewis '48, a journalist who covered Kennedy and a classmate at Harvard, said that watching Kennedy's early career drastically changed his opinion of the man.

"[In college] I just thought of him as someone who was a football player, remote... He seemed like the demon investigator, not someone who cared for small people," Lewis says. "I was completely wrong. He was, underneath a hard shell he put on, an extremely tender person," Lewis adds, noting that his opinion changed as he watched Kennedy promote civil rights as attorney general.

Kennedy had been appointed to the post by John F. Kennedy '40 in 1960, and he left after his brother's assassination in 1963. Based largely on his success as attorney general, a year later he was elected a senator for the state of New York.

Kennedy's mission in politics was to help those who were less fortunate.

"He was able to focus the nations' attention on injustice--whether it involved the war in Vietnam or hungry children living in Mississippi," says Edward Kennedy. "He found such injustice unacceptable and inspired people to take action and do something about it."

Townsend tells of a trip her father made to Mississippi in his capacity as the chair of the hunger committee. There he saw a family whose house was the size of his family's dining room. According to Townsend, Kennedy returned home profoundly disturbed by the contrast.

"He was clearly moved, and he told us, 'Do you know how lucky you are. Do something for this country," Townsend says.

In 1968, Kennedy began a presidential campaign for the Democratic nomination. A late entry into the ring, Kennedy became an easy favorite.

But the campaign came to a sudden and tragicend on June 6, 1968, when Kennedy was giving avictory speech after winning the Californiaprimary. While speaking, he was shot and killed byJordanian nationalist Sirhan, a death perceived bymany as sad more for what had been undone, thanfor what had been cut short.

"Kennedy was always in a state of becoming.What makes his absence so tragic is that he wasonly forty-two years old when he was murdered, andhis becoming was far from completed," writesNewfield.

The Kennedys: From Grandeur to theGhetto

His assassination not only ended a promisingpolitical career, it meant the loss of a father to11 children.

Kennedy had married Ethel Skakel in 1950, andthey quickly began to perpetuate the Kennedy line,and by the time of Robert's death, the childrenranged in age from 16 years to six months old.

Of the 11, nine are still alive today. TheKennedy children have gone on to become lawyers,community activists, filmmakers and politicalfigures. Townsend is Maryland's lieutenantgovernor and Joseph P. Kennedy II, Robert's oldestson, is a Massachusetts member of the House ofRepresentatives.

Edward Kennedy believes that his brother wouldbe proud of many of his accomplishments, but thatfamily came first.

"I believe he would be the first to tell youthat his children were his proudestaccomplishment, along with marrying Ethel,"Kennedy says.

Joseph Moakley, who represents the South Bostondistrict in Congress, believes the Kennedy familyhas served the Boston community well.

"They are a family dedicated to public service.They live by the saying, `To those that much isgiven, much is expected,"' Moakley says.

Moakley says he believes the new generation ofKennedys share this deep commitment to publicservice.

"I work closely with Joe Kennedy. Joe Kennedyis a dedicated public servant," Moaklie says. "Hedoes things not for publicity but things peopledon't even hear about, to help people."

David J. Bender, an editor at George magazineand longtime Kennedy supporter, also believesRobert Kennedy had a profound influence on thisgeneration of Kennedys.

"The members of this generation have been verycommitted to giving something back," he says."That was his ideal and the way he raised hiskids."

Political Influence

When Bender was in junior high school, heworked as a volunteer for Robert Kennedy'spresidential campaign. Bender says he believesKennedy was unique for his political integrity.

"Robert Kennedy was the last Americanpolitician who could campaign in the urban centersand the suburbs and say the same thing," Bendersays. "He was the last politician who coulddeliver the same message everywhere and have itheard. It is the standard people use as the bar toaspire to."

According to Bender, no politician has beenable to do this successfully since Kennedy.

"The rhetoric is just that. It divides, it doesnot unite," he says. "President Clinton istrying--with the dialogue about race--but he's notquite there."

Bender thinks it was Kennedy's experience withtragedy that lent him credibility in both poor andrich neighborhoods.

"Given the tragedy in his life, he was able toseem like he was speaking from the heart," Bendersays. "There was a sense with the disenfranchisedthat he was someone who was open and did have acapacity to learn to accept new things. He wasdeeply touched by other people's tragedies."

Newfield discusses this connection with theunderprivileged in his book.

"Robert left a void that was never filled,"Newfield writes. "No one came after him who couldsimultaneously speak for the unemployed blackteenager and the white worker trapped in a deadendjob and feeling misunderstood."

Townsend says she believes her father's legacywas his focus on bridging class and racial linesto create a better society.

"The sense of responsibility to get involved[is his legacy]," Townsend says. "He used to say,`It's only for God and angels to be looking on."'

Edward Kennedy agrees that this call to actionwould be Robert Kennedy's legacy.

"People going into public service to worktoward his goals are his living legacy," Kennedysays.

Bender thinks Kennedy's legacy is the messagehe imparted to those around him.

"[He believed] that hope is the thing whichempowers us," he says. "And in the face ofgreatest adversity if hope exists within you, thenyou can never be defeated."Photo courtesy of Archive PhotosRobert Kennedy joins the nation in mourningthe death of slain President John F. Kennedy athis November 25, 1963 funeral services atArlington National Cemetary.

But the campaign came to a sudden and tragicend on June 6, 1968, when Kennedy was giving avictory speech after winning the Californiaprimary. While speaking, he was shot and killed byJordanian nationalist Sirhan, a death perceived bymany as sad more for what had been undone, thanfor what had been cut short.

"Kennedy was always in a state of becoming.What makes his absence so tragic is that he wasonly forty-two years old when he was murdered, andhis becoming was far from completed," writesNewfield.

The Kennedys: From Grandeur to theGhetto

His assassination not only ended a promisingpolitical career, it meant the loss of a father to11 children.

Kennedy had married Ethel Skakel in 1950, andthey quickly began to perpetuate the Kennedy line,and by the time of Robert's death, the childrenranged in age from 16 years to six months old.

Of the 11, nine are still alive today. TheKennedy children have gone on to become lawyers,community activists, filmmakers and politicalfigures. Townsend is Maryland's lieutenantgovernor and Joseph P. Kennedy II, Robert's oldestson, is a Massachusetts member of the House ofRepresentatives.

Edward Kennedy believes that his brother wouldbe proud of many of his accomplishments, but thatfamily came first.

"I believe he would be the first to tell youthat his children were his proudestaccomplishment, along with marrying Ethel,"Kennedy says.

Joseph Moakley, who represents the South Bostondistrict in Congress, believes the Kennedy familyhas served the Boston community well.

"They are a family dedicated to public service.They live by the saying, `To those that much isgiven, much is expected,"' Moakley says.

Moakley says he believes the new generation ofKennedys share this deep commitment to publicservice.

"I work closely with Joe Kennedy. Joe Kennedyis a dedicated public servant," Moaklie says. "Hedoes things not for publicity but things peopledon't even hear about, to help people."

David J. Bender, an editor at George magazineand longtime Kennedy supporter, also believesRobert Kennedy had a profound influence on thisgeneration of Kennedys.

"The members of this generation have been verycommitted to giving something back," he says."That was his ideal and the way he raised hiskids."

Political Influence

When Bender was in junior high school, heworked as a volunteer for Robert Kennedy'spresidential campaign. Bender says he believesKennedy was unique for his political integrity.

"Robert Kennedy was the last Americanpolitician who could campaign in the urban centersand the suburbs and say the same thing," Bendersays. "He was the last politician who coulddeliver the same message everywhere and have itheard. It is the standard people use as the bar toaspire to."

According to Bender, no politician has beenable to do this successfully since Kennedy.

"The rhetoric is just that. It divides, it doesnot unite," he says. "President Clinton istrying--with the dialogue about race--but he's notquite there."

Bender thinks it was Kennedy's experience withtragedy that lent him credibility in both poor andrich neighborhoods.

"Given the tragedy in his life, he was able toseem like he was speaking from the heart," Bendersays. "There was a sense with the disenfranchisedthat he was someone who was open and did have acapacity to learn to accept new things. He wasdeeply touched by other people's tragedies."

Newfield discusses this connection with theunderprivileged in his book.

"Robert left a void that was never filled,"Newfield writes. "No one came after him who couldsimultaneously speak for the unemployed blackteenager and the white worker trapped in a deadendjob and feeling misunderstood."

Townsend says she believes her father's legacywas his focus on bridging class and racial linesto create a better society.

"The sense of responsibility to get involved[is his legacy]," Townsend says. "He used to say,`It's only for God and angels to be looking on."'

Edward Kennedy agrees that this call to actionwould be Robert Kennedy's legacy.

"People going into public service to worktoward his goals are his living legacy," Kennedysays.

Bender thinks Kennedy's legacy is the messagehe imparted to those around him.

"[He believed] that hope is the thing whichempowers us," he says. "And in the face ofgreatest adversity if hope exists within you, thenyou can never be defeated."Photo courtesy of Archive PhotosRobert Kennedy joins the nation in mourningthe death of slain President John F. Kennedy athis November 25, 1963 funeral services atArlington National Cemetary.