Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Robert Kennedy was a strong supporter of Martin Luther King, Jr. He gave him advice and publically tried to help him. He was saddened very much by the assassination of King. He became in charge of breaking the news to a crowd of mainly black people. His speech was not pre-written. He simply spoke from his heart. He talked about how King died from the act trying to gain justice for his peers, which was a great thing. Kennedy related this assassination to the one of his brother, John F. Kennedy. He begged for his audience not to blame this action on all white people. Just like JFK was killed by one white man, King was also. This was not a crime to use all white people as the scapegoat. He spoke about how he was eager to find love, wisdom, and compassion towards one another in the United states. He asked for his audience to not only pray for King's family, but for the United States as a whole so that they could move on to a better and more compassionate future. He spoke, "But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings who abide in our land." He had given a powerful and compassionate speech, though many riots still broke out after the tragic assassination. Later in life, Robert Kennedy was assassinated as well as his brother and King. Kennedy's support of King's actions is one to admire and use to increase our own compassion towards our country.