Robert F. Kennedy

Former U.S. Attorney General, 1925-1968

Robert F. Kennedy was an American politician who served as U.S. Attorney General from 1961 to 1964 and later as a U.S. Senator from New York until his assassination in 1968. Born in 1925, he was the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and played a central role in shaping national policy during the 1960s. As Attorney General, he took a strong stance on organized crime and civil rights.

After his brother’s assassination, Kennedy emerged as a leading voice for unity and compassion, advocating for marginalized communities and working to bridge divides during one of the most turbulent periods in American history. In a speech that many historians consider his best, Kennedy said, “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

Kennedy believed justice required addressing poverty, racism, and systemic inequities, not just punishing wrongdoing. Throughout his career, he called for moral courage, urging Americans to see justice as a shared responsibility that demanded empathy for the powerless. For Kennedy, true justice was inseparable from social reform—he sought to build a society where law and policy worked to lift people up. His vision of justice remains influential, rooted in the belief that compassion and equality are essential foundations for a just society.

Justice Innovation Lab takes a systems thinking approach to justice reform, which encourages criminal justice decision makers to think holistically about the needs of their communities.