Ethel Kennedy’s life after RFK: grief, activism and a family legacy
ethel kennedy, the 96-year-old widow of Robert F. Kennedy, turned the assassination of her husband into a long-running campaign for human rights and social causes, founding a lasting organization and raising 11 children while remaining a public activist.
Early life, marriage and Hickory Hill
Ethel Skakel Kennedy was born the sixth of seven children into a wealthy Chicago family; her father, George Skakel, founded Great Lakes Carbon Corporation and built the family fortune in the railroad and industrial sectors, and she was raised Catholic by her devout Irish mother, Ann Brannack. In 1945, while attending Manhattanville College, she met Robert F. Kennedy on a ski trip to Quebec, and the couple married in 1950 at St. Mary Church in Greenwich, Connecticut. The pair purchased Hickory Hill in Virginia, where they hosted intellectuals, artists and politicians.
Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination and the family left behind
On June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles by Sirhan Sirhan; he died the following day at age 42. Ethel was present at the scene and was three months pregnant with their youngest child, Rory Kennedy. The assassination left her widowed at age 40 with 11 children, whose ages at the time ranged from 3 to 17.
ethel kennedy founded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights center
Within months of Robert’s death, she founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, now known simply as Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. The organization advanced causes including gun control, environmental protection, mental health advocacy and international human rights. Her daughter Kerry Kennedy served as president of the human rights center.
Honors, continued activism and public moments
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan honored Ethel with the Robert F. Kennedy Medal in the White House Rose Garden. In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and that same year a bridge over the Anacostia River in Washington, D. C., was renamed the Ethel Kennedy Bridge. In March 2016, at age 88, she marched near Wendy’s chairman’s home with farmworkers, demanding wage increases for field workers at one cent per pound of tomatoes.
Family achievements and cultural tributes
Between 1951 and 1968, Ethel gave birth to 11 children while maintaining her role as a political confidante and public figure. Several of her children pursued public careers: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend served as Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor, Joseph P. Kennedy II represented Massachusetts in Congress, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became a prominent public figure. In 2012, her youngest child Rory Kennedy directed a documentary titled Ethel that used interviews, family videos and archival photographs to chronicle her life. Taylor Swift drew inspiration from Ethel’s love story for her song "Starlight. " Biographer Evan Thomas wrote that Ethel stated she would never remarry following her husband’s death.
Her work through the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights center and her public appearances have kept the focus on the causes the family championed; the organization’s stated areas of work include gun control, environmental protection, mental health advocacy and international human rights. The next confirmed public milestone in the family’s public record is unclear in the provided context.
