Person

George Packer

The 2001 RFK Book Award was presented to James Allen for Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America and George Packer for Blood of the Liberals. George Packer’s Blood of the Liberals skillfully blends his family history with the story of liberalism in America, resulting in a moving portrait of idealism and its inevitable collision with reality.

George Packer is a staff writer at The New Yorker. He has contributed numerous articles, essays, and reviews to the New York Times Magazine, Dissent, Mother Jones, Harper’s, and other publications. He was a Guggenheim Fellow in 2001-02, and has taught writing at Harvard, Bennington, and Columbia. His most recent book is The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America.

New year, new us. Same mission.

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights is rebranding to honor the legacy of our founder and hero, Mrs. Ethel Skakel Kennedy. From now on, we will proudly be known as the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center

While our name is changing, our mission and work remain the same. We will continue to fight injustice, advance human rights, and hold governments accountable around the world in 2026 and beyond.