Ethel Kennedy was social activist who championed human rights after RFK's death
ethel kennedy, the 96-year-old widow of Robert F. Kennedy, turned personal tragedy into a legacy of global human rights advocacy after her husband’s June 1968 assassination. She transformed grief into action and helped found the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights within months of his death.
Early life and family
Ethel Skakel Kennedy was born into privilege as the sixth of seven children in a wealthy Chicago family. Her father, George Skakel, founded Great Lakes Carbon Corporation and built the family fortune in the railroad and industrial sectors. Her mother, Ann Brannack, was devoutly Irish and raised Ethel Catholic.
Meeting Robert and marriage
In 1945, while attending Manhattanville College, Ethel met Robert F. Kennedy during a ski trip to Quebec. The couple married in 1950 at St. Mary Church in Greenwich, Connecticut. They purchased Hickory Hill, their Virginia estate, where they hosted intellectuals, artists, and politicians while maintaining a public political presence.
Marriage, Hickory Hill, and children
Between 1951 and 1968, Ethel gave birth to 11 children while serving as a political confidante and public figure. The family ranged widely in age; at the time of Robert’s assassination she was left with 11 children ranging from ages 3 to 17. Their youngest child, Rory Kennedy, would later direct a documentary about her mother.
Assassination and immediate aftermath
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, when he was shot. The assassination devastated the nation and left Ethel a widow at age 40.
Ethel Kennedy and human rights legacy
Within months of Robert’s death, Ethel founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, now known simply as Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. The center advanced causes including gun control, environmental protection, mental health advocacy, and international human rights. Biographer Evan Thomas wrote that Ethel stated she would never remarry, instead dedicating herself to furthering Robert’s work and legacy.
Honors, activism, and recognition
Her activism continued for decades. 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 in recognition of her dedication to social justice, human rights, environmental protection, and poverty reduction. That same year, a bridge over the Anacostia River in Washington, D. C., was renamed the Ethel Kennedy Bridge in her honor.
Family roles and cultural note
Her daughter Kerry Kennedy served as president of the human rights center, continuing the family mission. Several of her 11 children pursued public roles: 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, chronicling her mother’s life through interviews, family videos, and archival photographs; the film captured how Ethel raised her children while maintaining her advocacy work. Taylor Swift drew inspiration from Ethel’s love story for her song "Starlight, " unclear in the provided context.
Continued street-level activism
Even in later years Ethel remained publicly active. In March 2016, at age 88, she marched near Wendy’s chairman’s home with farmworkers, demanding wage increases for field workers of one cent per pound of tomatoes. Her commitment to activism persisted decades after Robert’s death.
Across private loss and public service, the record shows Ethel Kennedy converting personal grief into sustained advocacy, founding and supporting institutions that carried forward the causes she prioritized for more than half a century.
