On This Day in 1968: Robert Kennedy Won the California Primary.

Fifty-two years ago today Robert Kennedy won the winner-take-all California primary, scoring a four point victory over Eugene McCarthy. Moments after delivering his midnight victory address in the ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel, RFK left through the kitchen, paused to greet hotel workers, and was shot by Sirhan Sirhan. He died the next day.

Above is his 1966 “Ripple of Hope” speech, delivered before the anti-apartheid National Union of South African Students on June 6th. If you are assisting with distance learning, consider sharing this speech with your homebound students. Here’s a teaching guide to accompany it.

The speech is a memorable example of individual change. In 1966, RFK was serving in the United States Senate from New York. Three years earlier as attorney general in his brother’s administration, Robert Kennedy had authorized the FBI to engage in wiretap surveillance of Martin Luther King, Jr.