The RFK Fellows 1969-1972

Young Pioneers in the Fight for Justice

The first major program of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, sending young people to combat poverty and injustice.

The RFK Fellows program was a groundbreaking project that engaged young people around the country to take the lead in creative, innovative civic projects that strengthened their communities and challenged the status quo. I love that their work reinforced Bobby's belief in the power of youth and that so many young women and men were inspired to pursue careers in politics, public service and social justice as a result of their RFK Fellowships.

"The RFK Fellows program was a groundbreaking project that engaged young people around the country to take the lead in creative, innovative civic projects that strengthened their communities and challenged the status quo. I love that their work reinforced Bobby's belief in the power of youth and that so many young women and men were inspired to pursue careers in politics, public service and social justice as a result of their RFK Fellowships."

Ethel Kennedy, March 2019

quote: Ethel Kennedy, March 2019

Passion and Action in Service to the Nation

In September 1969, thirty-seven young people, ages 19 to 33, dispersed across the country to work on civil rights, economic development, innovative opportunities to improve the infrastructure of organizations serving minorities, and changes in discriminatory public policies.

Destinations included the inner cities of New York and Chicago, the mountains of Appalachia, Native American reservations, and the headquarters of Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers Organizing Committee.

Continuing Bobby’s Work

Soon after Robert Kennedy’s assassination, his family and friends created the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. In the words of his wife Ethel, the Memorial sought to act as a “catalyst” in addressing a variety of the nation’s problems.

The first major project was the RFK FELLOWS PROGRAM, which sent young professionals to American locales that needed strategies and operations to combat poverty, discrimination, and injustice.

It also provided leadership training for young community activists eager to utilize the resources and connections available through the RFK Fellows Program.

More than one thousand applicants applied to participate.

“This generation of young Americans is determined to make life qualitatively different for the hungry, the poor, the disenfranchised, the oppressed.”

SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY, June 23, 1969, Hickory Hill, McLean VA

RFK Fellows Photos: 1970-1972

A Lasting Legacy

The RFK Fellows Program not only generated positive change in places of desperate need, it also produced future leaders who continued to provide service to the nation.

1970 program alumnus Peter Welch (right) went on to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and in 2022 was elected to the U.S. Senate [D-Vt.].

Program founder and director B.J. Stiles (left) became a pioneer in AIDS/HIV advocacy, founding the National Leadership Coalition on AIDS, and later serving as president of the National AIDS Fund.

Can You Help?

We’re actively seeking alumni of the first two RFK Fellows classes, 1970 and 1971, as well as relatives and loved ones of those fellows no longer with us.

We seek to digitize and preserve photographs, clippings, correspondence, and ephemera. We hope to record audio and video interviews, and collect written memoirs and personal histories.

If you or someone you know was an RFK Fellow, please contact us using the contact information below.

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