Robert F Kennedy Jfk Assassination Essay

During his 1968 campaign for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, Robert F. Kennedy took an unpredictable approach in his campaign speech as he addressed the people of Indianapolis, Indiana. Just a few hours prior to his political campaign speech, Kennedy was made aware of the death of black rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. This tragic news was not yet widely known to the public, and Kennedy’s remembrance speech was one of the first public announcements informing Americans of King’s assassination. As he broke this news to the audience, Kennedy sparked disbelief and outrage among citizens, while identifying with their sense of discouragement. Immediately opening up his speech to the crowd with this shocking news, the political

Kennedy being one of the first political figures to inform the public of King’s death gives him a powerful look towards voters, and strengthens his reputation as an involved politician as he runs for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. After emotionally commiserating King’s death, Kennedy goes on to offer two solutions to take as Americans: to stay separate in race and continue to grow even further apart, or to unite as one nation. By calling “all people who love peace” together, RF Kennedy advocates his central idea of how King’s untimely death is a true sign of ultimately bringing us together, black and white races alike. By this shocking remembrance statement taking over his political speech in Indianapolis, Kennedy uses MLK’s death to enforce power in a relationship between political superiors and citizens, and pull underlying voters closer towards his side as a Democratic candidate. After he delivers this shocking and emotional news, Kennedy goes on to encourage growth and a united nation going

He urges his crowd to understand and make the same effort as King, “to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.” By taking a dark and dire death such as this and reframing it into something positive and encouraging, Kennedy circles his voters together as a whole and asks them to join him in his efforts, aligning his political agenda with King’s marks of activism, who worked so long on leaving behind. Robert F. Kennedy also uses this moment of grief to become vulnerable in a personal way with his audience. He brings up his connection to John F. Kennedy’s assassination of King’s, explaining how he also had a loved one taken from him too soon. Previously, Kennedy had never publicly spoken about his brother’s assassination, therefore opening up a second level of emotional trust and empathy with the state of Illinois. By sharing his personal understanding of loss, he is able to encourage the audience to use their feelings of grief to turn it into something beneficial for their nation as a