By David Jordan Jr
March 16, 1968, would be the day that the Kennedy family would again embark upon the campaign trail to seek the highest political position in the United States of America, the President of the United States. Senator Robert Francis Kennedy (RFK) announced his candidacy for President of the United States.
Five years prior, the thirty-fifth President of the United States of America, John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) was killed by an assassin’s bullet in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. His brother Robert was the United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964. He then became a U.S. senator representing the state of New York in January 1965.
Senator Kennedy announcing his candidacy for President of the United States would provide inspiration, reassurance, and hope for the nation that was healing from a multitude of issues in regard to racism, poverty, and war. Prior to Robert’s campaign for the presidency, the United States had encountered the assassination of his brother President John F. Kennedy in 1963, the assassination of Medgar Evers in June of 1963, the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, and the Vietnam War.
Senator Kennedy aimed to address the issues that plagued the country, as Black citizens were still treated as second-class citizens, war was dictating the perception of the United States of America, and the continuous rise of poverty in various cities across the country.
One month into his campaign, the bullet of an assassin would again strike a central figure in the United States of America, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4th 1968.
It was during this moment that personal experiences and self-reflection coming from the heart enabled Senator Kennedy to connect with the country on a deeper level as he spoke true feelings about understanding the depth of King’s death as he too had experienced the same tragedy with the assassination of his brother JFK.
Two months later, Senator Kennedy would win the California Democratic presidential primary election. In Los Angeles, California, Senator Kennedy would address his supporters at a rally at the Ambassador Hotel in the Embassy Room. Kennedy would conclude his victory speech by saying, “So my thanks to all of you and on to Chicago and let’s win there.”
As he was leaving through the kitchen, he was struck by an assassin’s bullet during the early morning hours of June 5th, 1968. He would fight for his life into the next day June 6th before he would succumb to the fatal injuries received from the bullets which struck him.
The death of Robert F. Kennedy would cause great pain for many in the United States of America and across the world as his dreams, goals,and aspirations for making the world a better place now were seemingly lost with his death in Los Angeles, California.
Fifty-five years later, Robert Kennedy Jr announced his candidacy for President of the United States on April 5th, 2023 as a Democratic candidate. He would officially announce his running as an independent candidate on October 9th, 2023.
On this date June 5th, 2024, we remember Robert F. Kennedy Sr.