Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights facts for kids

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights is a group that works to protect human rights around the world. It used to be called the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. This organization helps people stand up for their rights.

The group was named after Robert F. Kennedy, a United States Senator. He was a very important person who cared about justice. The organization was started in 1968, after he passed away. It is based in New York and Washington, D.C..

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights works with local activists. They want to make positive changes in governments and companies. They also give out awards to people who fight for human rights. They support journalists and writers too.

How the Organization Started

The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial began in Washington, D.C., in October 1968. Robert Kennedy's family and friends wanted to remember his public service. He had worked hard for many important causes. He passed away on June 5, 1968.

Fred Dutton and Peter B. Edelman helped lead the new organization. Robert S. McNamara, a former U.S. Secretary of Defense, was also a key leader.

The family announced the Memorial at a press conference. Robert Kennedy's brother, Ted Kennedy, spoke at the event. He said the organization would be a "living memorial." It would work on problems like poverty, crime, and education. He wanted it to continue Robert Kennedy's efforts to solve big issues. His sisters, Patricia Kennedy Lawford and Jean Kennedy Smith, were also there.

Robert Kennedy's wife, Ethel Kennedy, shared a statement. She hoped the Memorial would carry on her husband's ideas. He wanted to help young people and those who faced unfair treatment. He also wanted to promote peace around the world. These became the main goals of the Memorial. Later, the Memorial and other projects were renamed Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.

Awards and Recognition

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights gives out special awards. These awards honor people who make a difference.

Human Rights Award

The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award started in 1984. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend created it. This award honors brave people from all over the world. They must have made a big impact on human rights in their country.

Winners receive money and work with the organization. They help with projects related to human rights. Since 1984, 43 people and groups from 25 countries have won. In 2009, President Barack Obama presented the award.

Award Winners

Year	Winner	Country or organization
2022	Maximilienne C. Ngo Mbe	Cameroon
	Felix Agbor Nkongho (Balla)
2021	Guerline Jozef	United States
2020	Alessandra Korap Munduruku	Brazil
2019	La Unión del Pueblo Entero	United States
	Angry Tías & Abuelas of the Río Grande Valley
	Detained Migrant Solidarity Committee
2018	Color of Change	United States
	International Indigenous Youth Council
	March For Our Lives
	United We Dream
2017	Alfredo Romero	Venezuela
2016	Just Leadership USA	United States
	Andrea C. James
2015	Natalia Taubina	Russia
2014	Adilur Rahman Khan	Bangladesh
2013	Ragia Omran	Egypt
2012	Librada Paz	United States
2011	Frank Mugisha	Uganda
2010	Abel Barrera Hernández	Mexico
2009	Magodonga Mahlangu	Zimbabwe
	Women of Zimbabwe Arise
2008	Aminatou Haidar	Western Sahara
2007	Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah	Sudan
2006	Sonia Pierre	Dominican Republic
2005	Stephen Bradberry	United States
2004	Delphine Djiraibe	Chad
2003	Coalition of Immokalee Workers	United States
2002	Loune Viaud	Haiti
2001	Darci Frigo	Brazil
2000	Martin Macwan	India
1999	Michael Kpakala Francis	Liberia
1998	Berenice Celeyta	Colombia
	Gloria Florez
	Jaime Prieto
1997	Sezgin Tanrikulu	Turkey
	Senal Sarihan
1996	Anonymous	Sudan
	Nguyen Dan Que	Vietnam
1995	Kailash Satyarthi	India
	Doan Viet Hoat	Vietnam
1994	Wei Jingsheng	China
	Ren Wanding
1993	Bambang Widjojanto	Indonesia
1992	Chakufwa Chihana	Malawi
1991	Avigdor Feldman	Israel
	Raji Sourani	State of Palestine
1990	Amilcar Mendez Urizar	Guatemala
1989	Fang Lizhi	China
1988	Gibson Kamau Kuria	Kenya
1987	Kim Geun-tae	South Korea
	In Jae-keun
1986	Zbigniew Bujak	Poland
	Adam Michnik
1985	Allan Boesak	South Africa
	Beyers Naude
	Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
1984	CoMadres	El Salvador

Book Award

The Robert F. Kennedy Book Award started in 1980. It was funded by a book about Robert Kennedy. Each year, an award is given to a book. This book must show Robert Kennedy's goals. These goals include caring for the poor and powerless. They also include fighting for fair justice. He believed everyone should have a fair chance. He also thought a free country could fix problems.

Award-Winning Books

• 2023 - The Third Reconstruction: America's Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First Century by Peniel E. Joseph
• 2022 - The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee and America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion Since the 1960s by Elizabeth Hinton
• 2021 – Unworthy Republic:The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory by Claudio Saunt
• 2020 – Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland by Jonathan Metzl
• 2019 – American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment by Shane Bauer
• 2018 – Not a Crime to Be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty in America by Peter Edelman / The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy Tyson
• 2017 – Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
• 2016 – Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story by David Maraniss
• 2015 – The Crusades of Cesar Chavez by Miriam Pawel
• 2014 – The Great Dissent by Thomas Healy and special recognition to March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
• 2013 – The Price of Inequality by Joseph Stiglitz
• 2012 – The Justice Cascade by Kathryn Sikkink
• 2011 – The Big Short by Michael Lewis
• 2010 – Ordinary Injustice by Amy Bach
• 2009 – The Dark Side by Jane Mayer
• 2008 – Going Down Jericho Road by Michael Honey
• 2007 – The Great Deluge by Douglas Brinkley
• 2006 – Mirror to America by John Hope Franklin
• 2005 – Perilous Times by Jeffrey Stone and We Are All the Same by Jim Wooten
• 2004 – Ultimate Punishment by Scott Turow
• 2003 – At the Hands of Persons Unknown by Philip Dray and A Problem from Hell by Samantha Power
• 2002 – American Patriots by Gail Buckley
• 2001 – Without Sanctuary by James Allen and Blood of the Liberals by George Packer
• 2000 – Mandela: The Authorised Biography by Anthony Sampson and No Shame in My Game by Katherine Newman
• 1999 – Walking with the Wind by John Lewis and Michael D'Orso
• 1998 – Race, Crime and the Law by Randall Kennedy and The Soldiers' Tale by Samuel Hynes
• 1997 – Worse Than Slavery by David M. Oshinsky
• 1996 – Circumstantial Evidence: Death, Life, and Justice in a Southern Town by Pete Earley and The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics by Dan T. Carter
• 1995 – Speak Now Against the Day by John Egerton
• 1994 – Taming the Storm: The Life and Times of Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr., and the South's Fight Over Civil Rights by Jack Bass and special recognition to Herbert Block for Herblock: A Cartoonist's Life
• 1993 – Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit by Vice President Al Gore
• 1992 – Praying for Sheetrock by Melissa Fay Greene
• 1991 – The Long Haul by Myles Horton and Herbert and Judith Kohl and The Burning Season: The Murder of Chico Mendes and the Fight for the Amazon Rain Forest by Andrew Revkin
• 1990 – Among Schoolchildren by Tracy Kidder and Big Sugar by Alec Wilkinson
• 1989 – A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan and Rachel and Her Children by Jonathan Kozol
• 1988 – Beloved by Toni Morrison and Song in a Weary Throat by Pauli Murray
• 1987 – Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, by David J. Garrow
• 1986 – Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families by J. Anthony Lukas and Reaping the Whirlwind: The Civil Rights Movement in Tuskegee by Robert Norrell
• 1984 – Children of War by Roger Rosenblatt
• 1983 – Let the Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Stephen B. Oates
• 1982 – The Child Savers by Peter S. Prescott
• 1981 – Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black Struggle for Freedom by William Chafe

Journalism Award

The Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award started in 1968. Reporters who covered Kennedy's presidential campaign created it. This award honors journalists who report on important issues. These issues reflect Kennedy's concerns. They include human rights, social justice, and how one person can make a difference.

Entries for the award look at the reasons for injustice. They also explore ways to fix problems. Over fifty journalists judge the awards each year. Past winners include famous news anchors like Diane Sawyer.

See also

• List of human rights organisations