Kerry Kennedy, President of RFK Human Rights and daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, speaks to Michael about her father’s legacy and how his mission to shape a more just and peaceful world informs and inspires the organisation’s work more than 50 years after his death. In a fascinating interview that looks at global leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, the US prison system and much more, Kerry shares her insights from a life of activism and her vision for a kinder world.
Kerry Kennedy
Kerry Kennedy is President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. A human rights activist and lawyer, she authored New York Times best seller Being Catholic Now, as well as Speak Truth to Power and Robert F. Kennedy: Ripples of Hope. Kerry, the seventh of Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy’s eleven children, has devoted more than 40 years to the pursuit of equal justice, the promotion and protection of basic rights, and the preservation of the rule of law. She works on a range of issues, including child labour, women’s rights, disappearances, indigenous land rights, judicial independence, freedom of expression, ethnic violence, criminal justice reform, immigration, impunity, and environmental justice. She has led hundreds of human rights delegations in support of these causes.
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Kerry with her father, Robert F. Kennedy in 1964
Kerry Kennedy with Paul Lindley at an RFK Human Rights event
Kerry with her father and siblings
Lockdown inspiration
WHAT IS A BOOK THAT HAS CHANGED YOUR LIFE?
Tattoos On The Heart by Greg Boyle
WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING IN LOCKDOWN?
Hamilton!
IN ONE SENTENCE, DESCRIBE YOUR NEW NORMAL.
Zoom in, Zoom out
WHO IS YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATION?
Robert F. Kennedy
WHAT IS YOUR BEST TIP FOR LIFE?
The difference between a victim and a hero is that a hero takes action with a loving heart. Mandela, King, Malala, Maathai, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the kids from Margery Stoneham High school, Tony Fauci, Colin Kaepernick…
TOP 5 LOCKDOWN TRACKS
It’s funny you ask- our house has become an eclectic mix of protests tracks from the sixties, 80’s dance, modern pop, and current rap- which inspires conversation around cultural influences during childhood, young adult and current years, what the culture of our country was 50 years ago, and how it’s different today.
Have a listen to the Change Makers Lockdown Playlist here
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