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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-02
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1961 Berlin crisis; American forces, military and diplomatic, in Germany; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] recommendation for Americans to have fallout shelters; nuclear testing; problems with the Department of State; the start of the conflict in Vietnam, 1961; the Department of Justice under RFK and organized crime; RFK’s difficult relationship with J. Edgar Hoover; the wiretapping bill; new federal judgeships in 1961 and other presidential appointments; the Alliance for Progress; Red China; crises during JFK’s presidency and how he was an optimist; RFK’s move for an income tax increase during the Berlin crisis; RFK’s disagreements with President JFK; indecisiveness over picking JFK’s running mate, 1960; the missile gap; fighting and UN operations in the Congo; Nikita S. Khrushchev’s speeches; RFK’s 1962 trip to Japan, Indonesia, Germany, and other countries; the release of Allen L. Pope; Dutch disputes in Southeast Asia; the 1961 crisis in the Dominican Republic and the assassination of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina; the 1962 disarmament conference in Geneva; Edward M. Kennedy’s 1962 campaign for U.S. Senate; the Kennedy family national and political reputation; the Justice Department under RFK and civil rights; and the 1962 steel crisis, among other issues.
Collection
WICPP
Papers, 1922-2011 (bulk 1948-2004). Congressional staffer; federal and local government official; educator; consultant; advocate for criminal justice reform. Legislative assistant, Congressman Brooks Hays of Arkansas (1956-1959); legislative assistant and press secretary, Senator Clair Engle of California (1959-1960); research analyst, Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (1960-1961); assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Affairs, U.S. Department of State (1961-1962); White House staffer (1962-1966); staff director, Senate Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations (1962-1963); special assistant to the staff director, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (1963-1965); special assistant to the administrator for equal opportunity, Agency for International Development (1965-1967); director of legislative affairs, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (1967-1969); management consultant (1969-1975); Mount Vernon Supervisor, Fairfax County (Va.) Board of Supervisors (1975-1980); senior staff member, Center for Public Policy Education, the Brookings Institution (1975-1993); vice chairman, National Committee on Community Corrections (1987-2004); author, In Search of Middle Ground: Memoirs of a Washington Insider (2005). Professional and personal papers documenting lengthy career in Washington, D.C., and community volunteer work, with an emphasis on civil rights, intergovernmental relations, equal employment regulations, health care policy, criminal justice, and prison industries. Correspondence, drafts, writings, reports, conference files, notes, research material, press releases, speeches, and news clippings.