Quote

Speech in Chicago

August, 1963

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Chicago, IL

We face a severe challenge. Daily before our eyes there is a growing army of unemployed and out-of-school youth. The challenge is to create new and meaningful opportunities for those young people. If we ignore this challenge, we invite the discontented and deprived to search for other solutions. I have seen some of the solutions: There are the young hoodlums who think of nothing but getting into the rackets. There are those who turn, instead, to theft, burglary and shoplifting as a career. There are those unfortunates who become addicted to narcotics before they are out of their teens. I have seen these young on the streets and in the prisons. I don’t like what I have seen.

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.