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Thought Paper
Robert F. Kennedy - Statement on the Death of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Elizabeth Clark
Rochester Institute of Technology
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Robert (Bobby) Kennedy was the seventh of nine children and in his words “when you

come from that far down you have to struggle to survive”, perhaps one of the reasons he grew to

be such a fighter for other’s rights (Robert F. Kennedy). As Attorney General he fought

diligently for the expansion of rights for Blacks in American society during the extreme political

climate of the Civil Rights Era. Here we will cover two major events that shaped the Civil Rights

Movement and how intertwined it was with Kennedy’s own story. Further delving into Bobby

Kennedy’s life, we will learn what makes him a credible rhetor and whether he is categorized as

a moderate or extremist based on one of his rhetorical acts.

It would be an impossible task to discuss the entire Civil Rights Movement in the United

States in such a brief paper, which is why only a few of the major events will be mentioned here.

The first of which is the notorious murder of Emmett Till in 1955; that fateful year the 14-year-

old black boy would be accused of cat-calling and sexually harassing a white woman – an

accusation that would eventually be found to be false. Till was originally from Chicago and was

only visiting Mississippi for the summer but the South was deeply entrenched in Jim Crow, laws

which allowed outright racism and discrimination against blacks in the South (Newkirk, 2017).

After Till was wrongly accused of harassing the woman, Roy Bryant, J.W. Milam, and a group

of other white men proceeded to kidnap, beat, lynch, shoot, and finally dump his mutilated body

into a river (Newkirk, 2017). Mamie Till-Mobley, Emmett Till’s mother, made the decision to

allow an open casket at her son’s funeral in order to showcase to the country what horrors the

black community faced in the South – a decision that spurred on the Civil Rights Movement of

the sixties. The images of Till’s body in his casket provided a common purpose for black

activists to rally behind and has become one of the most referenced pieces of Civil Rights history

(Newkirk, 2017).
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One of the next major events was the Freedom Rides which began in May of 1961. Their

group consisted of both black and white passengers who traveled by bus from Washington, D.C.

into the Deep South, Alabama and Mississippi (Martin, 2011). It was organized by CORE

(Congress of Racial Equality) as a way to convince the federal government to uphold the 1960

Supreme Court decision of Boynton v. Virginia, which outlawed the Jim Crow sanctioned

segregation during the use of interstate public transportation and facilities (Martin, 2011). The

bus rides would prove to be incredibly dangerous, with one being fire-bombed on its way down

South, numerous passengers would be hospitalized after the incident (Martin, 2011). After this

extreme act of violence, bus drivers began refusing to continue driving the Freedom Rider’s bus

in fear of the danger that could befall them. Robert (Bobby) Kennedy would step in here and use

his political power to order bus drivers be found along with the addition of heightened protection

for the Freedom Riders as they continued their trip (Martin, 2011). Unfortunately, despite

Kennedy’s involvement the protection suddenly disappeared during the trip further South, when

the bus arrived at their terminal they were brutally attacked by a mob. Kennedy stepped in yet

again and made a deal with the state of Mississippi to guarantee the safety of the Freedom Riders

when they crossed state lines from Alabama. To do this, Kennedy agreed not to uphold the

Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation in public transportation and facilities – the riders

were hurried through the bus terminal and taken to jail afterwards (Martin, 2011). While the

Freedom Rides may not have ended on the high note intended, the battle against interstate

segregation would be won not long after.

Bobby Kennedy, once he understood the Civil Rights Movement, used his political

influence to further the cause, he fought for Black Americans to have the right to vote,

integrating schools, and de-segregating public accommodations (Robert F. Kennedy). According

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to the JFK Presidential Library and Museum, “Robert Kennedy believed that voting was the key

to achieving racial justice and collaborated with President Kennedy in proposing the most far-

reaching civil rights statute since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which passed

eight months after President Kennedy's death” (Robert F. Kennedy). Behind the scenes he fought

to get Martin Luther King Jr. released from prison following King’s involvement with the

nationwide sit-ins that led to his arrest. Much of his work was behind the scenes, making calls

and using his influence to offer aid to the leaders and followers of the Civil Rights Movement.

While he is not considered on the level of more famous civil rights leaders such as MLK and

Malcom X, his involvement with the movement makes his commentary on the lives of Black

people in America, relevant.

In regards to Kennedy’s level of credibility, he meets the Five Factors of Credibility:

authority, trust, co-orientation, charisma, and dynamism. Robert Kennedy embodies authority as

a rhetor, he served during wartime as a Navy man, held a degree in business from Harvard and

followed that up with a degree in law from the University of Virginia Law School (Robert F.

Kennedy). Based on his education level and time as a military man he is viewed as being

knowledgeable and well read, all of which provide backing to his credibility level. He was

viewed as being trustworthy and someone who was honest, as Attorney General he was President

John F. Kennedy’s closest advisor and confidant – proving himself to be a man of good character

(Robert F. Kennedy). He strengthened his co-orientation with the Black community by often

using his political influence to fight for the rights they deserved, such as integration in schools.

As mentioned before, he also fought for aid to be given to the Freedom Riders, the group

fighting for the federal government to uphold the desegregation in interstate public transportation

and facilities (Martin, 2011). By fighting for their rights he strengthened his level of co-
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orientation and gave the impression that they were fighting for the same things and were one.

Kennedy’s charisma was also outstanding, he displayed himself as a missionary who was highly

motivated by the Civil Rights Movement – someone who would fight for a cause. Likewise, he

displays contextually derived charisma which would shine in times of need, the speech in which

he announced the death of MLK was an example of this (Kennedy, 1968). His dynamism is not

exceptional but that can be attributed to the melancholy topic he was covering with his audience,

the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. Kennedy does not call on an aggressive, bold, or energetic

tone, but rather on his empathic side based on the needs of his audience at that time (Kennedy,

1968). His attempt to draw on his experiences in order to empathize with the loss that was

rocking the Black community is what gives his speech credibility, not because he was energetic

and captivating in his performance.

I chose to focus on Kennedy’s speech regarding MLK’s death because I felt that it tied in

with the topic – Blacks in American society, more than some of his other rhetorical acts. While

he does cover race-based topics in other speeches this one felt like it had a deeper impact than his

others because it came at such a tumultuous time during the fight for Civil Rights. Kennedy

begins the speech by emphasizing the peace MLK focused on and fought for before he was

killed, likely as a means to remind those listening of the priorities that MLK held (Kennedy,

1968). He goes on to mention the murder of his own brother, President John F. Kennedy, and

that he too felt a deep anger towards the white men responsible, pushing his co-orientation with

his audience (Kennedy, 1968). As another de-escalation tactic, Kennedy reminds the audience

what is needed is unity and not more violence and division within the country. In class it was

mentioned that Indianapolis was riot-free that night while other cities experienced rioting in

response to the announcement of MLK’s death. If that is taken into consideration when
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analyzing Kennedy’s speech, his credibility is clear – his words kept the community from an

uprising that night. The last portion of his speech pushes his mission of the night which is to

prevent further violence from erupting:

So I shall ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther
King, that's true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of
us love--a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.

We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times; we've had difficult times in
the past; we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not
the end of lawlessness; it is not the end of disorder.

But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country
want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all
human beings who abide in our land.

Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the
savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.

Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.
(Kennedy, 1968)

What is clear from the speech that night was that Robert Kennedy was a moderate and

most certainly not an extremist. He was not suggesting that we tear away from the current

institutions but that we need to continue to mold it into the progress we want and need, “We can

do well in this country. We will have difficult times; we've had difficult times in the past; we will

have difficult times in the future” (Kennedy, 1968). He uses emotionally controlled language and

does not rely on extreme emotions to get the point across:

For those of you who are black--considering the evidence there evidently is that there
were white people who were responsible--you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred,
and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in great
polarization--black people amongst black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred
toward one another.
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Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend,
and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with
an effort to understand with compassion and love. (Kennedy, 1968)

By utilizing quotes from Greek philosophers and orators he is using logical proof to

maintain control over the audience instead of relying on emotional proofs, “My favorite poet was

Aeschylus. He wrote: "In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart

until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God”

(Kennedy, 1968). Likewise, despite fighting for Civil Rights I don’t believe his views would be

considered extreme or out of the mainstream, views were beginning to shift in support of the

movement at that time, “But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black

people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want

justice for all human beings who abide in our land” (Kennedy, 1968). Finally, he understood that

change was not going to be instantaneous but believed it still needed to be fought for:

We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times; we've had difficult times in
the past; we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not
the end of lawlessness; it is not the end of disorder. (Kennedy, 1968)

As a Civil Rights activist, Robert Kennedy used his political influence and favor in order

to make strides for the movement. He stepped in when he could, such as getting the Freedom

Riders safely into Mississippi; and soon after, the battle against segregation during interstate

travel was won. As a rhetor he meets the Five Factors of Credibility and can be labeled as a

moderate – logical, understanding of time constraints, and believed in the utilization of pre-

existing institutions, etc. He is responsible for preventing riots in Indianapolis the night he

announced MLK’s death, his speech influenced the community to remain peaceful and that

showcases what a powerful rhetor Robert Kennedy could be.

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References

Kennedy, R. F. (1968). Statement on the Death of Martin Luther King, Jr. Indianapolis, Indiana,
United States of America.
Martin, M. T. (2011). ““Buses are a Comin'. Oh Yeah!””: Stanley Nelson on Freedom Riders.
Black Camera, 96-122.
Newkirk, V. I. (2017, February 16). How The Blood of Emmett Till Still Stains America Today.
Retrieved from The Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/how-the-blood-of-emmett-
till-still-stains-america-today/516891/
Robert F. Kennedy. (n.d.). Retrieved from The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum:
https://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/The-Kennedy-Family/Robert-F-Kennedy.aspx