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“HONORING THE LATE SENATOR ROBERT F. KENNEDY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S5146-S5147 on June 5, 2008.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
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 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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