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MPR News Staff

BBC documentary: 'The Day Hope Died: Remembering Robert Kennedy'

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Robert F. Kennedy
Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was initially reluctant to run for president against the incumbent, Lyndon Johnson. But after Eugene McCarthy's near victory in New Hampshire, Kennedy jumped into the race.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Senate

The last public words from Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles:

"What I think is quite clear, is that we can work together, in the last analysis, and that what has been going on within the United States over the period of the last three years, the divisions, the violence, the disenchantment with our society, the divisions whether it's between blacks and whites, between the poor and the more affluent, or between age groups, or on the war in Vietnam, that we can start to work together, that we are a great country, and a selfless country, and a compassionate country, and I intend to make that my basis for running over the period of the next few months. My thanks to all of you, and now it's on to Chicago and let's win there. Thank you very much."

He often said, in 1968 campaign speeches, that too much — and for too long — we have sacrificed something about our country, and personal excellence, in an unending search for more wealth.

It's true we've got a very large GNP, Kennedy said. But the Gross National Product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising. "It measures neither our wit nor our courage. Neither our wisdom nor our learning. Neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile, and it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud to be Americans."

Featured in the BBC documentary hosted by Stephen Sackur is close aide Paul Schrade, who was himself hit in the skull by one of the assassin's bullets and gives a unique insight into RFK's final moments. Others painting a picture of Kennedy include Peter Edelman, the policy director for the Robert Kennedy presidential campaign, speechwriter Adam Walinsky, and aide Jeff Greenfield.

Robert Kennedy's daughter Kerry Kennedy is also heard, and she is the author of a new book about her father's legacy, "Ripples of Hope."

To listen to the documentary, click the audio player above.