It’s 1968 in America, the effect of the Vietnam War can be seen in every corner, people are divided between the older, pro-war generation and the angry young people. College campuses, such as Columbia University and UC Berkeley, became the main place for student strikes.
Things were only getting worse after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and the announcement President Lyndon B. Johnson made on a televised address, when he said “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.” Yet, this all prepared Bobby, or Robert F. Kennedy, to step forward.
Bobby, a senator from New York, was able to get people’s love and respect with his authenticity and ability to relate to their pain and suffering through his own pain after losing his older brother, President John F. Kennedy, who had been killed five years earlier.
During that time, a voice like Bobby’s was the only hope to bring the country back on its feet. People believed in him and had hope he could lead the country to a better place.
In 1968, Bobby ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, winning several state primary elections until, on June 4, the California results came in announcing Bobby’s win.
Everything seemed to be normal, people gathered at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles waiting for his speech, not knowing it would be his last. Bobby talked about racial and generational divisions and the struggles of the working class, then ended the speech saying, “We are a great country, an unselfish country, a compassionate country. And I intend to make that my basis for running. So, my thanks to all of you, and now it’s on to Chicago and let’s win there.”
After his long campaign in California, Kennedy left the podium and the ballroom. Former athletes Roosevelt Grier and Rafer Johnson accompanied him out through the kitchen to avoid the crowd.
Suddenly, a 24-year-old guy named Sirhan Sirhan took the gun he was hiding behind a campaign poster and started shooting. He shot Kennedy three times, including a fatal shot behind his right ear, and wounded five other people. Bobby went into a coma for twenty-five hours, until his heart failed and he died on June 6.
Sirhan confessed to the crime at his trial and was sentenced to death in 1969. Later the sentence was changed to life in prison after the California Supreme Court canceled all death sentences in 1972.
Flown to New York for the funeral in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Bobby’s body was then taken on a special train to Washington, D.C., where people gathered to say goodbye.
on June 8 Bobby was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, close to his brother John.
Ask us! What questions do you have about content, strategy, pop culture, lifestyle, wellness, history or more? We may use your question in an upcoming article!
Like MediaFeed’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was syndicated by MediaFeed.co
