what did martin luther king, jr., and attorney general robert kennedy have in common?

by Adelbert Murazik 3 min read

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Mar 28, 2016 · What did Martin Luther King, Jr., and Attorney General Robert Kennedy have in common? A. They both worked to end poverty and unequal treatment of the races. B. They both came from homes of great wealth and privilege. C. They both were striving for high political office when they were struck down. D.

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Which describes something Martin Luther King Jr and Robert Kennedy had in common?

Which describes something Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy had in common? They both came from homes of great wealth and privilege. They both believed that their greatest talents were forming foreign policy. They both worked to end poverty and unequal treatment of the races.

What is the connection between RFK and MLK?

He toured Appalachia and riot-torn inner cities. His and Kings' thinking and social philosophies became strongly linked. This linkage is evidenced in two ways before the assassination of both. King, before his assassination, made it known that he would endorse Kennedy for president.

How did John F. Kennedy help Martin Luther King?

John F. Kennedy phoned Coretta Scott King to offer his support and Robert Kennedy then initiated a series of contacts with Ernest Vandiver, governor of Georgia, which eventually led to King's release.

Did Robert F Kennedy work with Martin Luther King?

As attorney general, he authorized the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to wiretap Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference on a limited basis. After his brother's assassination, he remained in office during the Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson for several months.

How is Robert F Kennedy related to John F. Kennedy?

He is a nephew of president and senator John F. Kennedy, and senator Ted Kennedy. Kennedy grew up at his family's homes in McLean, Virginia, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

When did RFK give his speech about MLK?

April 4, 1968The words he spoke on April 4, 1968 Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening, because I have some very sad news for all of you.

How did Robert Kennedy help the Freedom Riders?

Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent 400 federal marshals to protect the Freedom Riders and urged the Interstate Commerce Commission to order the desegregation of interstate travel.

Which President helped Martin Luther King?

President Lyndon B. JohnsonPresident Lyndon B. Johnson Meets with Martin Luther King Jr., December 3, 1963.

Why is Robert Kennedy so important?

Kennedy has done much to elevate the standard. He was the author of The Enemy Within (1960), Just Friends and Brave Enemies (1962), and Pursuit of Justice (1964). In November 1964 he was elected U.S. senator from New York. Within two years Kennedy had established himself as a major political figure in his own right.

What is wrong with Robert F Kennedy's speech?

What made him sound as if he was choking up? In truth, Kennedy has a condition called spasmodic dysphonia, a specific form of an involuntary movement disorder called dystonia that affects only the voice box.Jan 7, 2009

Overview

Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also referred to by his initials RFK or by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. Senator from New York from January 1965 until his assassination in June 1968. He was, like his brothers John and Edward, …

Early life and education

Robert Francis Kennedy was born outside Boston in Brookline, Massachusetts, on November 20, 1925. He was the seventh of nine children to businessman/politician Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and philanthropist/socialite Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. His parents were members of two prominent Irish-American families in Boston. His eight siblings were Joseph Jr., John, Rosemary, Kathleen,

Naval service (1944–1946)

Six weeks before his 18th birthday in 1943, Kennedy enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve as a seaman apprentice. He was released from active duty in March 1944, when he left Milton Academy early to report to the V-12 Navy College Training Program at Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His V-12 training began at Harvard (March–November 1944) before he was relocate…

Further study, journalism, and marriage (1946–1951)

In September 1946, Kennedy entered Harvard as a junior, having received credit for his time in the V-12 program. He worked hard to make the varsity football team as an end; he was a starter and scored a touchdown in the first game of his senior year before breaking his leg in practice. He earned his varsity letter when his coach sent him in wearing a cast during the last minutes of a game against

Senate committee counsel and political campaigns (1951–1960)

In November 1951, Kennedy moved with his wife and daughter to a townhouse in the Georgetown, Washington, D.C., and started work as a lawyer in the Internal Security Section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He prosecuted a series of graft and income tax evasion cases. In February 1952, Kennedy was transferred to Brooklyn, and worked as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New Yorkto help prepare fraud cases against former officials …

Attorney General of the United States (1961–1964)

After winning the 1960 presidential election, President-elect John F. Kennedy appointed his younger brother attorney general. The choice was controversial, with publications including The New York Times and The New Republiccalling him inexperienced and unqualified. He had no experience in any state or federal court, causing the president to joke, "I can't see that it's wrong to give him a littl…

Vice presidential candidate

In the wake of the assassination of his brother and Lyndon Johnson's ascension to the presidency, with the office of vice president now vacant, Kennedy was viewed favorably as a potential candidate for the position in the 1964 presidential election. Several Kennedy partisans called for him to be drafted in tribute to his brother; national polling showed that three of four Democrats wer…

U.S. Senate (1965–1968)

Nine months after his brother's assassination, Kennedy left the cabinet to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate representing New York, announcing his candidacy on August 25, 1964, two days before the end of that year's Democratic National Convention. He had considered the possibility of running for the seat since early spring, but also giving consideration for governor of Massachusetts or, as he p…

Overview

On April 4, 1968, United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York delivered an improvised speech several hours after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Kennedy, who was campaigning to earn the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, made his remarks while in Indianapolis, Indiana, after speaking at two Indiana universities earlier in the day. Before boarding a plane …

Earlier that day

During his speeches at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend and at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, Kennedy focused on domestic issues, the Vietnam War, and racism. At Notre Dame's Stepan Center, a crowd of approximately 5,000 heard Kennedy speak on poverty in America and the need for better-paying jobs. When asked about draft laws, Kennedy called them "unjust and inequitable" and argued to end college deferments on the basis that they discriminat…

Summary of Indianapolis speech

Kennedy began his speech by announcing that King had been killed. He was the first to publicly inform the audience of King's assassination, causing members of the audience to scream and wail in disbelief. Several of Kennedy's aides were worried that the delivery of this information would result in a riot. Once the audience quieted down, Kennedy spoke of the threat of disillusion and divisiveness at King's death and reminded the audience of King's efforts to "replace that viol…

Aftermath

Despite the fact the crowd which Kennedy spoke to in Indianapolis was only estimated to be 2,500 people, the speech was credited with boosting his image in the state of Indiana. Indianapolis remained calm that night, which is believed to have been in part because of the speech. In stark contrast to Indianapolis, riotserupted in more than one hundred U.S. cities including Chicago, New Yor…

Legacy

The speech itself has been listed as one of the greatest in American history, ranked 17th by communications scholars in a survey of 20th century American speeches. Former U.S. Congressman and media host Joe Scarborough said that it was Kennedy's greatest speech and was what prompted Scarborough to enter public service. Journalist Joe Kleinhas called it "politics in its grandest form and highest purpose" and said that it "marked the end of an era" before Ame…

Film

A Ripple of Hope, a documentary on the speech and the events surrounding it, was produced by Covenant Productions at Anderson University and released in 2008. It includes interviews with associates of Kennedy and members of the audience.
The speech was performed verbatim by Linus Roache in the 2002 film RFK.

Works cited

• Murphy, John M. (June 5, 2009). ""A time of shame and sorrow": Robert F. Kennedy and the American jeremiad". Quarterly Journal of Speech. 76 (4): 401–414. doi:10.1080/00335639009383933.

External links

• Text, Audio, Video Excerpt of Speech