Robert F. Kennedy’s Complicated Legacy On Foreign Policy And Inequality

In this June 22, 1963, file photo, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, left, speaks with civil rights leaders, beginning second from left, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Roy Wilkins, executive secretary of the NAACP; and A. Phillip Randolph, president of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, on the White House grounds, in Washington, DC. Civil rights lawyer Joseph Rauh stands in the background at center.
In this June 22, 1963, file photo, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, left, speaks with civil rights leaders, beginning second from left, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Roy Wilkins, executive secretary of the NAACP; and A. Phillip Randolph, president of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, on the White House grounds, in Washington, DC. Civil rights lawyer Joseph Rauh stands in the background at center. Bob Schutz / AP File Photo
In this June 22, 1963, file photo, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, left, speaks with civil rights leaders, beginning second from left, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Roy Wilkins, executive secretary of the NAACP; and A. Phillip Randolph, president of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, on the White House grounds, in Washington, DC. Civil rights lawyer Joseph Rauh stands in the background at center.
In this June 22, 1963, file photo, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, left, speaks with civil rights leaders, beginning second from left, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Roy Wilkins, executive secretary of the NAACP; and A. Phillip Randolph, president of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, on the White House grounds, in Washington, DC. Civil rights lawyer Joseph Rauh stands in the background at center. Bob Schutz / AP File Photo

Robert F. Kennedy’s Complicated Legacy On Foreign Policy And Inequality

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Fifty years ago today, on June 5th, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot after clinching the California Democratic Primary nomination for President. He succumbed to his injuries the next morning. He is now seen as a liberal icon, and was catapulted into public service by his brother, President John F. Kennedy. In 1963, the FBI placed civil rights activists like Martin Luther King Jr. on their COINTELPRO list. They were labeled radicals with supposed Communist tendencies. As U.S. Attorney General, Robert Kennedy signed off on wiretaps and other intimidation tactics against political opponents to his left. Today, we take a nuanced look at RFK on Worldview. We’ll play extended excerpts from the last years of his life, including his stances on the Vietnam War, free press, market economy, and government with writer Vijay Prashad of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and chief editor of LeftWord Books.