Video: 'Robert Kennedy 1964 Convention Speech'
(Thursday, August 27, 1964, Kennedy began speaking at 8:52 p.m. EDT) — Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy stood on the podium at the 1964 Democratic National Convention for 16 minutes tonight, unable to speak as applause surged from the delegates below.
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The demonstration was notable for both its length and its character. Delegates and spectators throughout the Convention Hall stood and clapped continuously, with no shouting, music, or parading, and only modest waving of state placards.
Kennedy had come to the convention to introduce a memorial film about his late brother, President John F. Kennedy. This was the first time a Kennedy family member appeared before the convention, which has been predominantly dominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson, JFK’s successor.
Dressed in a black suit and tie, Kennedy watched the demonstration impassively, showing only a slight smile.
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When the applause finally subsided, he spoke in a small voice, thanking the delegates for their support of President Kennedy. “His idea,” Kennedy said of his brother, “really was that this country and this world should be a better place when we turn it over to the next generation.”
He urged the delegates not to “look to the past” and to give the same dedication to President Johnson and vice presidential nominee Hubert Humphrey.
Quoting Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” he said, “When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night.”
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After the 20-minute memorial film, President Johnson entered his special box, where Kennedy had watched the film. The delegates broke into cheers as the President shook Kennedy’s hand. Kennedy and his wife, Ethel, then moved to the front row, seated beside Mrs. Johnson.
Earlier in the day, posters reading “New York Welcomes Bobby” were placed under each seat in the New York delegation, but only one poster was held aloft during the demonstration.
David Blum, a page from New Rochelle, said he was ordered to remove the posters 15 minutes before Kennedy’s scheduled appearance to avoid dramatizing his move to New York for the Senate race.
