Quote

Address at the Third Annual WGHQ Human Relations Award Dinner, Ellenville, New York

April 19, 1966

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Ellenville, NY

Talking is not enough. But it is a beginning. We might do better than turning our backs in embarrassed anger when spokesmen for the poor blast the social structure that has left them out. We might listen to them. In the process, we will learn, and they will learn—and out of that simple courtesy, plans and dreams for better communities for everyone may well come to pass. If we have taken the lessons of the last five years to heart, we will respond by finding the financial resources necessary to solve the problems of our urban slums and our rural areas, and by an accompanying commitment of intelligence and imagination and creativity to the human side of the task. We will not only encourage community action and community organization, but we will reach out ourselves to help bridge the gulf . . . People all over the world will judge us not by what we say but what we do. Now we have passed the laws, therefore we must implement them fully.

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.