Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Brandon Brown: RFK

Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy was probably best known, during his lifetime, for being the Attorney General for his brother, John F. Kennedy, and for Lyndon B. Johnson, and for his run as the Democratic presidential nominee in 1968. He was unusual because he reached out to many different people including the poor, blacks, the working class and the migrant worker. These people were mainly ignored by politics at the time, so by reaching out to them, he surprised many people. He was a notable figure in the civil rights movement, and was very important in compromising for the Freedom Riders' safety. After John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Bobby resigned as Attorney General, and would later successfully run for a Senate seat from the state of New York. In 1968, Bobby ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, and after a key victory in California, he was shot by Sirhan Sirhan, and after 26 hours, he passed away.

One thing that I found interesting was that he didn't really get along with many prominent names, such as J. Edgar Hoover, Lyndon B. Johnson, and at times Martin Luther King Jr. J. Edgar Hoover was difficult to work with as he didn't like the idea of racial integration (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAkennedyR.htm). Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson were known to not get along, and after only 9 months of being Attorney General for Johnson, he resigned and decided to run for the Senate. As far as Kennedy and Dr. King, Kennedy would often give permission for the FBI to wiretap Dr. King's phones, as the FBI thought that King's closest allies were communists (http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/king/d1.html), and once King angrily berated Kennedy for having a The First Baptist Church in Montgomery secured by the National Guard and U.S. Marshalls(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFK#cite_note-26), although he would later go on to thank him for that.

Another thing that surprised me was that Kennedy's ultimate goal was to end the nonviolent protests. It was surprising to me because Kennedy was an avid civil rights supporter, and ending the protests seemed odd. However, the main reason why he wanted to end these protests was because it often incited riots and it would embarrass the United States. In fact, he was content with jailing the Freedom Riders for the sole reason of keeping them out of harms way. He preferred that the movement would focus more on voting issues instead of causing violence.

8 comments:

  1. I like how your put this guys real name. I like your picture that you pickd.

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  2. I think people tend to look past Bobby Kennedy. He was definitely a man of the people and had the potential to continue MLK's legacy.

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  3. RFK has done a lot of great things.

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  4. you really did a good job-summarizig his story.

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  5. He did do a lot of great things for the Civil Rights Movement, along with most of his family.

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  6. Lot of good information and well written. I found it interesting that he wanted to lock up the freedom riders to keep them safe.

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  7. I don't think Bobby get as much credit as his bother, butI feel like he is just as important. He did a lot of great things and tried to help the freedom riders.

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  8. I agree with ^^ bobby didnt get enough credit as he should have. Good story. i learned a couple things i didnt know!

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