Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (formerly the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, or RFK Center) is an American

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

nonprofit

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...

organization. It was named after

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and 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, a ...

in 1968, a few months after his assassination. The organization of leading attorneys, advocates, entrepreneurs and writers is dedicated to a more just and peaceful world, working alongside local activists to ensure lasting positive change in governments and corporations. It also promotes human rights advocacy through its RFK Human Rights Award, and supports

investigative journalists Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

and authors through the RFK Book and Journalism Awards. It is based in New York and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

History

The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial was originally established as a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

in Washington, D.C., in October, 1968. The Kennedy family and friends looked to memorialize Robert Kennedy's public service following his assassination on June 5, 1968, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Fred Dutton Frederick Gary Dutton (June 16, 1923 – June 27, 2005) was a lawyer and Democratic Party power broker who served as campaign manager and Chief of Staff for California Governor Pat Brown, Special Assistant to U.S. President John F. Kennedy, and w ...

, a long-time friend and Kennedy ally, was named executive director, and

Peter B. Edelman Peter Benjamin Edelman (born January 9, 1938) is an American lawyer, policy-maker, and law professor at Georgetown University Law Center, specializing in the fields of poverty, welfare, juvenile justice, and constitutional law. He worked as an ai ...

, a member of Kennedy's senatorial staff, became associate director. The chairman of the executive committee was former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. The Memorial was announced during a press conference at Hickory Hill in McLean, Virginia, on Tuesday, October 29, 1968. Kennedy's brother

Ted TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

led the press conference, stating that the organization would be a "living memorial" that would work in areas of poverty, crime, and education in America. He went on to say the Memorial would be "an action-oriented program that we think will carry on his concerns, his actions, his efforts to work on so many of the problems in this country that have no solutions". He was joined at the press conference by his sisters,

Patricia Kennedy Lawford Patricia Helen Kennedy Lawford (May 6, 1924 – September 17, 2006) was an American socialite, and the sixth of nine children of Rose and Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. She was a sister of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Senator ...

and

Jean Kennedy Smith Jean Ann Kennedy Smith (February 20, 1928June 17, 2020) was an American diplomat, activist, humanitarian, and author who served as United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1993 to 1998. She was a member of the Kennedy family, the eighth of nine c ...

, as well as dozens of Kennedy family friends and aides. Kennedy's widow Ethel Kennedy did not attend the press conference, but was nearby, in a second-floor bedroom of Hickory Hill on doctor's orders, awaiting the birth of her eleventh child. She issued a statement saying it was the hope of her husband's family and friends that the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial would carry forward the ideals he worked for during his lifetime: "He wanted to encourage the young people and to help the disadvantaged and discriminated against both here and abroad, and he wanted to promote peace in the world. These will be the goals of the memorial." The memorial and other projects started in Kennedy's memory were later collectively renamed Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.

Awards

Human Rights Award

The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award was created by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in 1984 to honor individuals around the world who show courage and have made a significant contribution to

in their country. In addition to receiving a financial award, laureates work with the organization on human rights-related projects. Since 1984, awards have been given to 43 individuals and organizations from 25 different countries. The 2009 award was presented by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. In 2009, the RFK Human Rights began a partnership with the

California International Law Center The California International Law Center is a research center at the University of California, Davis School of Law (Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall) that focuses on international, comparative, and transnational law. It works to promote scholarship, cu ...

(CILC) at the University of California, Davis School of Law focusing on the crisis in

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

Laureates

Book Award

The Robert F. Kennedy Book Award was founded in 1980, with the proceeds from

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr. (; born Arthur Bancroft Schlesinger; October 15, 1917 – February 28, 2007) was an American historian, social critic, and public intellectual. The son of the influential historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. and a spe ...

's biography, ''Robert Kennedy and His Times''. Each year, the organization presents an award to the book which "most faithfully and forcefully reflects Robert Kennedy's purposes – his concern for the poor and the powerless, his struggle for honest and even-handed justice, his conviction that a decent society must assure all young people a fair chance, and his faith that a free democracy can act to remedy disparities of power and opportunity."

Winners

* 2022 - ''The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together'' by

Heather McGhee Heather Charisse McGhee is a New York Times bestselling author and policy advocate. She is a former president and currently a trustee emeritus of Demos, a non-profit progressive U.S. think tank. McGhee is a regular contributor to NBC News and fre ...

and ''America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion Since the 1960s'' by Elizabeth Hinton * 2021 – '' Unworthy Republic:The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory'' by

Claudio Saunt Claudio Saunt (born 1967) is a professor, author, and historian of early America, the U.S. South, and Native American studies."Claudio Saunt." ''Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors''. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2015. Retrieved vie ''Gale In Co ...

* 2020 – '' Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland'' by Jonathan Metzl * 2019 – '' American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment'' by

Shane Bauer Shane Bauer is an American journalist, best known for his undercover reporting for ''Mother Jones'' magazine. He has won several awards including the Harvard's Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting and the National Magazine Award for Best ...

* 2018 – ''Not a Crime to Be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty in America'' by Peter Edelman / ''The Blood of Emmett Till'' by

Timothy Tyson Timothy B. Tyson (born 1959) is an American writer and historian who specializes in the issues of culture, religion, and race associated with the Civil Rights Movement. He is a senior research scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duk ...

* 2017 – '' Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by

Matthew Desmond Matthew Desmond is a sociologist and the Maurice P. During Professor of Sociology at Princeton University, where he is also the principal investigator of the Eviction Lab. Desmond was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2022. Educ ...

* 2016 – '' Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story'' by David Maraniss * 2015 – ''The Crusades of Cesar Chavez'' by Miriam Pawel * 2014 – ''The Great Dissent'' by Thomas Healy and special recognition to '' March: Book One'' by John Lewis,

Andrew Aydin Andrew Aydin (born August 25, 1983) is an American comics writer, known as the Digital Director & Policy Advisor to Georgia congressman John Lewis, and co-author, with Lewis, of Lewis' #1 ''New York Times'' bestselling autobiographical graphic no ...

, and Nate Powell * 2013 – ''

The Price of Inequality ''The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future'' is a 2012 book by Joseph Stiglitz that deals with income inequality in the United States. He attacks the growing wealth disparity and the effects it has on the economy ...

'' by

Joseph Stiglitz Joseph Eugene Stiglitz (; born February 9, 1943) is an American New Keynesian economist, a public policy analyst, and a full professor at Columbia University. He is a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and the Joh ...

* 2012 – ''The Justice Cascade'' by

Kathryn Sikkink Kathryn Sikkink (born 1955) is an author, human rights academic, and scholar of international relations working primarily through the theoretical strain of constructivism. She is currently at professor at Harvard Kennedy School. Academic career Ka ...

* 2011 – ''

The Big Short ''The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine'' is a nonfiction book by Michael Lewis about the build-up of the United States housing bubble during the 2000s. It was released on March 15, 2010, by W. W. Norton & Company. It spent 28 weeks on '' ...

'' by Michael Lewis * 2010 – ''Ordinary Injustice'' by

Amy Bach Amy Bach (born 1968) is an American a journalist, attorney, and author of ''Ordinary Injustice: How America Holds Court'', for which she won the 2010 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Measures for Justice, ...

* 2009 – '' The Dark Side'' by

Jane Mayer Jane Meredith Mayer (born 1955) is an American investigative journalist who has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1995. She has written for the publication about money in politics; government prosecution of whistleblowers; the Uni ...

* 2008 – ''Going Down Jericho Road'' by

Michael Honey Michael K. Honey (born 1947) is an American historian, Guggenheim Fellow and Haley Professor of Humanities at the University of Washington Tacoma in the United States, where he teaches African-American, civil rights and labor history. Early life ...

* 2007 – ''The Great Deluge'' by

Douglas Brinkley Douglas Brinkley (born December 14, 1960) is an American author, Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities, and professor of history at Rice University. Brinkley is the history commentator for CNN, Presidential Historian for the New York Histori ...

* 2006 – ''Mirror to America'' by John Hope Franklin * 2005 – ''

Perilous Times ''Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism'' is a 2004 book by American Constitutional law scholar Geoffrey R. Stone, reviewing the treatment of the United States First Amendment during times of wa ...

'' by

Jeffrey Stone Jeffrey Stone (December 16, 1926 – August 22, 2012) was an American actor and voice-over artist. Stone was the model and inspiration for Prince Charming in the 1950 Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney animated feature film, ''Cinderella ...

and ''We Are All the Same'' by

Jim Wooten Jim Wooten is an American journalist for ABC News and an author. He won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (formerly the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, or RFK Center) is an American 501(c)(3 ...

* 2004 – ''

Ultimate Punishment ''Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflections on Dealing with the Death Penalty'' is a 2003 series of autobiographical reflections regarding the death penalty. It is written by Scott Turow and marks his return to non-fiction for the first time si ...

'' by

Scott Turow Scott Frederick Turow (born April 12, 1949) is an American author and lawyer. Turow has written 13 fiction and three nonfiction books, which have been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than 30 million copies. Turow’s novel ...

* 2003 – ''At the Hands of Persons Unknown'' by Philip Dray and ''

A Problem from Hell ''"A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide'' (2002) is a book by American Samantha Power, at that time Professor of Human Rights Practice at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, which explores the United States's understa ...

'' by

Samantha Power Samantha Jane Power (born September 21, 1970) is an American journalist, diplomat and government official who is currently serving as the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. She previously served as the 28th ...

* 2002 – ''American Patriots'' by Gail Buckley * 2001 – ''Without Sanctuary'' by James Allen and ''Blood of the Liberals'' by George Packer * 2000 – '' Mandela: The Authorised Biography'' by Anthony Sampson and ''No Shame in My Game'' by

Katherine Newman Katherine S. Newman (born February 21, 1953) is an American academic administrator who currently serves as the System Chancellor for Academic Programs, the Senior Vice President for Economic Development and the Torrey Little Professor of Sociolog ...

* 1999 – ''Walking with the Wind'' by John Lewis and

Michael D'Orso Mike D'Orso (born October 12, 1953) is an American author and journalist based in Norfolk, Virginia. He wrote ''Like Judgment Day: The Ruin and Redemption of a Town Called Rosewood'' (1996), ''Plundering Paradise: The Hand of Man on the Galapago ...

* 1998 – '' Race, Crime and the Law'' by

Randall Kennedy Randall LeRoy Kennedy (born September 10, 1954) is an American law professor at Harvard University and author. He is the Michael R. Klein Professor of Law and his research focuses on the intersection of racial conflict and legal institutions in ...

and ''The Soldiers' Tale'' by Samuel Hynes * 1997 – ''Worse Than Slavery'' by

David M. Oshinsky David M. Oshinsky (born 1944) is an American historian. He is the director of the Division of Medical Humanities at NYU School of Medicine and a professor in the Department of History at New York University. Background Oshinsky graduated from C ...

* 1996 – ''Circumstantial Evidence: Death, Life, and Justice in a Southern Town'' by Pete Earley and ''The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics'' by

Dan T. Carter Dan T. Carter is an American historian. Life Carter graduated from University of South Carolina, University of Wisconsin, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a Ph.D. in 1967. He taught at the University of Maryland, and the Un ...

* 1995 – ''Speak Now Against the Day'' by John Egerton * 1994 – ''Taming the Storm: The Life and Times of Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr., and the South's Fight Over Civil Rights'' by

Jack Bass Jack Bass is an American author and journalist. He was born in Columbia, South Carolina to Nathan and Esther (Cohen) Bass in 1934 and grew up in the town of North as the youngest of seven children. He graduated from the University of South Carol ...

and special recognition to

Herbert Block Herbert Lawrence Block, commonly known as Herblock (October13, 1909October7, 2001), was an American editorial cartoonist and author best known for his commentaries on national domestic and foreign policy. During the course of a career stretchi ...

for ''Herblock: A Cartoonist's Life'' * 1993 – '' Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit'' by Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

* 1992 – '' Praying for Sheetrock'' by

Melissa Fay Greene Melissa Fay Greene (born December 30, 1952) is an American nonfiction author. A 1975 graduate of Oberlin College, Greene is the author of six books of nonfiction, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a 2011 inductee into the Georgia Writers H ...

* 1991 – '' The Long Haul'' by

Myles Horton ] Myles Falls Horton (July 9, 1905– January 19, 1990) was an American educator, socialist, and co-founder of the Highlander Folk School, famous for its role in the Civil Rights Movement (Movement leader James Bevel called Horton "The Father o ...

and Herbert Kohl (educator), Herbert and Judith Kohl and ''The Burning Season: The Murder of Chico Mendes and the Fight for the Amazon Rain Forest'' by Andrew Revkin * 1990 – ''Among Schoolchildren'' by Tracy Kidder and ''Big Sugar'' by

Alec Wilkinson Alec Wilkinson (born 1952) is a writer who has been on the staff of ''The New Yorker'' since 1980. According to ''The Philadelphia Inquirer '' he is among the "first rank of" contemporary American (20th and early 21st century) "literary journali ...

* 1989 – ''

A Bright Shining Lie ''A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam'' (1988) is a book by Neil Sheehan, a former ''New York Times'' reporter, about U.S. Army lieutenant colonel John Paul Vann (killed in action) and the United States' involvement in ...

'' by Neil Sheehan and ''Rachel and Her Children'' by Jonathan Kozol * 1988 – ''

Beloved Beloved may refer to: Books * ''Beloved'' (novel), a 1987 novel by Toni Morrison * ''The Beloved'' (Faulkner novel), a 2012 novel by Australian author Annah Faulkner *''Beloved'', a 1993 historical romance about Zenobia, by Bertrice Small Film ...

'' by

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' So ...

and ''Song in a Weary Throat'' by Pauli Murray * 1987 – '' Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,'' by

David J. Garrow David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

* 1986 – '' Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families'' by

J. Anthony Lukas Jay Anthony Lukas (April 25, 1933 – June 5, 1997) was an American journalist and author, probably best known for his 1985 book '' Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families''. ''Common Ground'' is a classic study ...

and ''Reaping the Whirlwind: The Civil Rights Movement in Tuskegee'' by Robert Norrell * 1984 – ''Children of War'' by Roger Rosenblatt * 1983 – ''Let the Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.'' by

Stephen B. Oates Stephen Baery Oates (January 5, 1936August 20, 2021) was a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He specialized in the American Civil War era and authored numerous books. Early life and education Stephen Baery Oates wa ...

* 1982 – ''The Child Savers'' by

Peter S. Prescott Peter Sherwin Prescott (July 15, 1935 - April 23, 2004) was an American author and book critic. He was the senior book reviewer at ''Newsweek'' for more than two decades. In January 1970, Prescott published ''A World of Our Own: Notes on Life an ...

* 1981 – ''Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black Struggle for Freedom'' by William Chafe

Journalism Award

The Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award was established in 1968 by a group of reporters covering Kennedy's presidential campaign and "honors those who report on issues that reflect Kennedy's concerns including human rights, social justice and the power of individual action in the United States and around the world." Entries include insights into the causes, conditions and remedies of injustice and critical analysis of relevant public policies, programs, attitudes and private endeavors. Led by a committee of six independent journalists, the Awards are judged by more than fifty journalists each year. Previous winners include

World News World news or international news or even foreign coverage is the news media jargon for news from abroad, about a country or a global subject. For journalism, it is a branch that deals with news either sent by foreign correspondents or news agencie ...

anchor Diane Sawyer.

References

External links

* {{Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award laureates Robert F. Kennedy Foundations based in the United States Human rights organizations based in the United States Organizations established in 1968

History

Awards

Human Rights Award

Laureates

Book Award

Winners

Journalism Award

See also

References

External links