New York Premiere

A Ripple of Hope

Wednesday, April 1, 2009
6:30 to 8:00 pm ET
New York

A little-known story about Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., held a capacity audience enthralled during a premiere screening of the documentary, A Ripple of Hope, at the Paley Center in New York on April 1, 2009. The poignancy of this story was underscored by the presence of Ethel Kennedy, and two of RFK's daughters who were on the panel—Kerry Kennedy (human rights activist and author of Being Catholic Now) and Rory Kennedy (filmmaker).

The documentary follows Robert F. Kennedy on a campaign stop in Indianapolis on April 4, 1968, the day King was murdered in Memphis. The formal event was canceled, but an enormous crowd had gathered in town, and Kennedy chose to speak to them about the day's tragedy. First-person accounts reveal the tension and danger of the situation, and extraordinary archival footage brings us right into the back of the flatbed truck that was used as a stage for Kennedy to speak from. There was no violence in Indianapolis that night, while rioting broke out in many cities across the country.

The Paley Center gathered a panel, moderated by Pat Mitchell, president and CEO of the Center, to give wide-ranging context to the film: from its producer/director Donald Boggs, to political analysis from Harold Ford, Jr., and Jeff Greenfield; to both personal and professional commentary from Rory and Kerry Kennedy. Special guests Martin Sheen and the girls from St. Ignatius School in the Bronx rounded out the evening that reminded us all just how extraordinary these two men were.