Yes, Camelot has come to represent this incredible mythical time in royal American history but can anyone completely deny that the Kennedy family has left an extraordinary legacy that is indelibly stitched into the fabric of our global community forever. There are a myriad of Kennedy achievements, scandals and tragedy that has all but graced, shocked and saddened a nation. Yet, we can be certain that what was given will endure far beyond what has been lost or stolen.   The contributions of the Kennedy family run deep and wide and the effects of their achievements will be felt for many decades to come.  These achievements will surely triumph over all the failures and disillusionment.

In our not so distant past, thousands of Americans joined together, people of all races and backgrounds, to protest peacefully racial injustice. Martin Luther King, Jr. was at the forefront of the movement for civil rights and many civil rights leaders didn’t think President John F. Kennedy was supportive enough of their efforts. The President believed that holding public protests would only anger many white people and make it even more difficult to convince the members of Congress who didn't agree with him to pass civil rights laws. By June 11, 1963, however, President Kennedy decided that the time had come to take stronger action to help the civil rights struggle. He proposed a new Civil Rights bill to the Congress, and he went on television asking Americans to end racism. "One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free," he said. "This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds…[and] on the principle that all men are created equal." President Kennedy made it clear that all Americans, regardless of their skin color, should enjoy the same rights and freedoms as white their white counterparts.

Forty-six years later, Senator Edward Kennedy along with his son Rep. Patrick Kennedy and niece Caroline Kennedy stood in solidarity to endorse the first African American President of the United State. Each of them explicitly linking President Obama to their beloved President John F. Kennedy.  Senator Kennedy echoing the sentiments of his late brother, “we want a President who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American ideal.”  This ideal being a coming together of all people for one common goal and that is to bring about all that is good and just in America and in the American dream.  Subsequent Senator Kennedy’s death President Obama stated that, “The outpouring of love, gratitude, and fond memories to which we've all borne witness is a testament to the way this singular figure in American history touched so many lives.  His ideas and ideals are stamped on scores of laws and reflected in millions of lives -- in seniors who know new dignity, in families that know new opportunity, in children who know education's promise, and in all who can pursue their dream in an America that is more equal and more just -- including myself.” and that “His extraordinary life on this earth has come to an end.  And the extraordinary good that he did lives on.  For his family, he was a guardian.  For America, he was the defender of a dream.

I think even with the imperfection of the past, we can say with the utmost certainty that the next generations of Kennedy’s will not fail the charge that has been so clearly laid before them:  And yes, with it still will come “politics as usual” yet somehow, someway progress is won.

 *JFKlibrary.org

*White House